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Press Release from
Nemoto & Co.,Ltd

Nemoto & Co.,Ltd
1-15-1, Kamiogi, Suginami-ku
Tokyo 167-0043
Japan
Phone:(81)3-3392 7181, Fax:(81)3-3392 7188

for Release: 12:00 GMT
March 18,2002

Nemoto & Co., Ltd. Wins Favorable Decision In Patent Litigation for LumiNova®, Long Afterglow Phosphorescent Pigment
Tokyo District Court Holds Suit Filed against Chemitech Corporation

Tokyo, Japan, March 18, 2002 - Nemoto & Co., Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan, today announced that the Tokyo District Court has delivered a favorable decision regarding the lawsuit against Chemitech Inc. of Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan, concerning the alleged infringement of the patent No. 2,543,825 covering LumiNova®, long afterglow phosphorescent pigment.

A three-member panel of judges found that Chemitech had indeed infringed the patent and in addition to substantial damages, a provisional enforcement was ordered for the injunction of import and sales of the infringed articles, Picariko CP-05 and CP-05B, and manufacture and sale of the secondary products there from.

"The Tokyo District Courts decision represents another victory for Nemoto & Co., Ltd." commented Ikuyoshi Nemoto, Nemoto's President and CEO. "We have succeeded in defending our products against infringement of our patent. Our continued success lends further support to our long-standing belief that Nemoto has the legitimate patents on LumiNova®."

Chemitech Inc. started selling their Picariko branded product early 1995, and distributed a letter to Nemoto's customers mentioning, "We can guarantee that Picariko is out of the claims of the patent application of Nemoto & Co., Ltd." Nemoto after confirming that "Picariko" fell into the claims of their patent application, first requested, by means of a letter of warning, for Chemitech to terminate their alleged infringement. When Chemitech Inc. did not respond in a positive manner, Nemoto was obliged to file a petition with Tokyo District Court on October 2, 1998. The above-mentioned decision is the result of the litigations for three years and five months since then.

The court sought a possible settlement in the course of litigation, however, appropriate conditions were not found and they eventually delivered the written decision, which was:

• Defendant shall not import or sell the infringing products;
• Defendant shall not manufacture or sell the articles manufactured by using the infringing products;
• Defendant shall discard the articles manufactured by using the infringing products in possession at the defendant's headquarters, branches, depots, and warehouses;
• Defendant shall pay to Plaintiff damages with interest for past imports and sales of infringing products.

Nemoto & Co., Ltd of Tokyo, Japan, an R&D oriented company, was founded in 1941 for the manufacture of phosphorescent paints. Since then it has diversified its research efforts into non-radioactive luminescent paints and pigments for security and industrial uses, smoke and gas sensors, and contract research services for specific radioisotope based biological studies. One of the latest triumphs has been the 1993 invention and successful marketing of LumiNova®, a strontium aluminate based, non-radioactive phosphorescent pigment with super bright and super long afterglow characteristics. Currently LumiNova® has replaced 90% of the radioactive pigments used in Japan and Switzerland for watch dials. Currently these pigments are being manufactured in Nemoto's own plants in Portugal and China. Additional information on the company is available on the Internet at www.nemoto.co.jp.

- End of Press Release -

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For More Information Call:

* Nemoto & Co., Ltd (81) 3- 3392 7181 (Japan)
* United Mineral & Chemical(UMC) Corp. (1) 201-507-3300 (in North America)
* Nemoto (Europe) B.V. (31) 20-6703858 (in EU)
* Nemoto (HK) Limited (852) 2366-8213/5 (in Asia)

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