WEST CHESTER, Ohio,
Jan. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- AK
Steel Corporation (NYSE: AKS) said today that it has prevailed in a
patent infringement lawsuit brought against the company by two
French units of ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel producer.
The suit, heard in U.S. District Court in Delaware, alleged that AK Steel and two other
steel producers have infringed upon a U.S. patent for
aluminum-coated, boron-bearing carbon steels, used primarily for
high-strength automotive applications.
A jury, however, found the ArcelorMittal patent invalid and that
no infringement had occurred, in a decision handed down
January 14, 2011. AK Steel said
the decision will allow the company to begin offering the product
for sale immediately to customers in the
United States. AK Steel said that, while it has had
the capability to produce the product for several years, potential
customers had been concerned about the pending legal action brought
by ArcelorMittal. AK Steel said the jury's finding eliminates
its customers' concerns.
AK Steel
AK Steel produces flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical
steels, primarily for automotive, appliance, construction and
electrical power generation and distribution markets. The company
employs about 6,200 men and women in Middletown, Mansfield, Coshocton and Zanesville, Ohio; Butler, Pennsylvania; Ashland, Kentucky; Rockport, Indiana; and its corporate
headquarters in West Chester,
Ohio. Additional information about AK Steel is available on
the company's web site at www.aksteel.com. AK Tube LLC, a wholly
owned subsidiary of AK Steel, employs about 300 men and women in
plants in Walbridge, Ohio and
Columbus, Indiana. AK Tube
produces carbon and stainless electric resistance welded (ERW)
tubular steel products for truck, automotive and other markets.
Additional information about AK Tube LLC is available on its web
site at www.aktube.com.
SOURCE AK Steel