Regarding the Ruling of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District
of Texas in the Case against MHI’s 2.4 MW Wind Turbines

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
As elaborated in the notice titled "U.S. District Court Jury Hands Down Verdict in Case against MHI's 2.4 MW Wind Turbines" issued on March 9, 2012, General Electric Company (GE) inaugurated litigation against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc. (MPSA)1 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas seeking compensation for damages, etc. for alleged infringement of two of GE's U.S. patents by 2.4 MW (megawatt) variable-speed wind turbines manufactured by MHI. In March last year the jury handed down a verdict requiring the two defendant companies to pay GE damages. Thereafter those court proceedings continued, with the result that on May 28 the court ruled that MHI and MPSA should pay damages to GE in the amount of approximately US$170 million.

    1. Plaintiff

    Name: General Electric Company (GE)
    Location: Connecticut, U.S.

    2. Background to the judgment
    • February 11, 2010: GE filed for legal action against MHI and MPSA.
    • February 10, 2012: The court handed down a summary judgment ruling one of GE's patents is invalid. (MHI wins the case.)
    • March 8, 2012: The jury handed down a verdict on the one remaining patent in question, requiring the two defendant companies to pay GE damages in the amount of approximately US$170 million.
  • May 28, 2013: Based on the jury verdict, the court handed down a judgment ordering MHI and MPSA to pay roughly US$170 million in damages to GE.
    • 3. Overview of the ruling in the first instance

      MHI's claim of "inequitable conduct"2 on the part of GE debated in the court after the jury trial in March 2012 was rejected, and in keeping with that jury verdict the court ruled that MHI's 2.4 MW variable-speed wind turbines had infringed one of GE's patents, and the court ordered MHI and MPSA to pay damages to GE in the amount of approximately US$170 million.

      4. MHI's view

      MHI respects the intellectual properties of all other companies, and it believes it has not infringed the patent concerned in the ruling. MHI also believes that the dismissal by the court of its claim of "inequitable conduct" by GE was unfair. As described in "5. Outlook" below, the company intends to take the necessary measures to enable its claims to be recognized. MHI would like to add that the GE patent in question is currently undergoing reexamination by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and that body has issued a right of appeal notice to the effect that the patent is not valid.

      5. Outlook

      The defendants have the right to appeal for review of the ruling to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Going forward, it is conceivable that disclosure of some matters may be called for, and in that event we will issue notifications swiftly.

      6. Impact

      Impact from the judgment on MHI's earnings is currently under close examination. In the event that disclosure of certain matters is called for in the future, we will issue notifications swiftly.

      Notes:

      1 MPSA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. (MHIA), a MHI subsidiary. MPSA serves as the company's power systems operation base in the U.S.

      2 If an applicant for a U.S. patent deceived the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by intentionally withholding information important to rendering a judgment on the application's patentability (e.g. similar pre-existing technology, etc.), the applicant will be barred from exercising its patent rights. Judgment on this issue was rendered by the court judge separately from the jury trial in March 2012.