We received the letter from IPC and a copy of the front pages of the
patents. The problem with your earlier message is that the patent
numbers were wrong. In the letter I was faxed from IPC, the printing was
a bit blurred so I can see where the mistake was made. However, on the
front pages of the patents they sent with the letter, the numbers were
clear. The correct numbers are:
USP 4,312,692 and 4,314,870.

And yes these patents do deal with adhesive bonding of SMT components
prior to soldering.

Also, according to the letter from IPC: "As a result, the letter
requests licenses from companies using this process. There are numerous
tactical and strategic issues raised by the Matsushita letter, e.g., it
is not a claim of infringement, but simply a license "inquiry". This
restricts the ability of the recipients to file suit for patent
invalidity, at least at this initial stage."

Since this letter was coming from Tony Hilvers, Vice President of
Industry Programs at IPC, I don't think it's a hoax.

Mary Muller
ELDEC Corp.
Materials and Processes
Lynnwood, WA

        _________________________________
> Hi ya'll!
>
>     I just stopped by one of my other favorite sites (www.smtnet.com)
> and
> found the following post:
>
> >Posted by Mike C on April 14, 1998 at 18:01:28:
>
> >We received a letter from IPC concerning patent infringements
> (patents held
> by >Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.) LTD (Panasonic) that may
> effect most
> of us who >use adhesive to secure components to PCBs for subsequent
> wave
> soldering >process. If you have not received a copy of this letter
> Contact IPC
> and request a >copy (847) 509-9700. IPC is Surveying Companies to
> Judge if
> industry members >would like to consolidate their responses through
> IPC. I do
> not wish to hinder IPC >efforts but I feel we should all be made aware
> of what
> is going on. IF ANYBODY >HAS INFORMATION ON THIS LETTER PLEASE POST
> INFO HERE.
> Following is >the cover letter sent from Matsushita Electric
> Industrial Co. .,
> Ltd.
>
> >Dear Sir
>
> >This is to inform you that Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
> ("Matsushita"; >maybe known as Panasonic, its brand name) Owns U.S.
> Patents,
> among others, >identified below, which we assume may be of interest to
> your
> company.
>
> >USP 4,812,692 USP 4,814,870
>
> >For your convenience, attached are the copies of the above patents.
> Matsushita is >willing to grant licenses under these patents to any
> company on
> a >nondiscriminatory basis. If you would be interested, please contact
> us for
> further >information. We can be reached by fax # +81-6-909-0053
>
> >Further, please be advised that Matsushita does not intend to assert
> the
> above >patents against infringement occurred in conjunction with the
> use of
> certain >manufacturing equipment supplied by Matsushita or its
> authorized
> distributors.
>
> >Sincerely yours,
>
>
> >Shinjiro Saikawa
> >General Manager
> >Licensing Department I
>
> Is this something that we should really worry about? Anybody know?
>
>
> -Steve
> Gregory-
>
>
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