Proton Receives Approval For Preliminary Injunction Against Two Companies For Improper Use Of "PROTRON" Brand Name

Court Approves Injunction — Pending Bond Issuance — That Will Bar Prosonic Group Corp. and Protron Digital Corp. from Further Distributing Confusingly Similar "PROTRON" Name and Brand; Cites Presumption of Irreparable Harm to Proton

April 26, 2006

Proton Corporation, affiliated with Proton Electronic Industrial Co., a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of high-quality, superbly engineered digital TVs, LCD TVs and HDTV products, announced it has won a preliminary injunction that will enjoin Prosonic Group from any further use or distribution of materials and products with the confusingly similar "PROTRON" name or trademark, upon issuance of a bond as ordered by the Court. U.S. District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner, Central District of California, approved the granting of the injunction, pending issuance of a bond, in response to a Trademark Infringement complaint filed recently by Proton. Proton charged Prosonic with improperly using the brand name "Protron" to sell directly competing products, including flat-panel LCD screens, and improperly trying to register "Protron" as a brand. In awarding the injunction, Judge Klausner commented that since Prosonic "began selling televisions under the Protron mark, Plaintiff's salespeople have received several complaints from customers who have confused Protron with Proton televisions. Other customers have come to Plaintiff for technical service regarding Defendants' televisions. Plaintiff has also seen advertisements issued by retailers which confuse the two brands," including store flyers "which depict Protron DVD players mislabeled as Proton devices." For these and other reasons, including the verbal and visual similarity of "Protron" to Proton, Judge Klausner concluded that use of the "Protron" name and mark creates "a likelihood of confusion" among consumers and "a presumption of irreparable harm" to Proton. The confusingly similar name "Protron" has already appeared in advertisements by Prosonic for LCD displays priced significantly below those legitimately manufactured and marketed by Proton. Proton has no subsidiary named "Protron" and no relationship with "Protron." However, as the court's ruling acknowledged, advertisements for "Protron" products have already led to confusion in the marketplace, causing purchasers of Proton flat-panel screens to ask dealers why their units were so much more expensive than "the same product" they had seen advertised for substantially less. The confusion has also harmed Proton sales by inducing consumers to purchase less expensive LCD screens sold under the "Protron" trademark and by injuring Proton's business reputation and good will. About Proton Founded in 1974, Proton Electronic Industrial Co. is a leading manufacturer of high-quality digital TV, LCD TV and HDTV products. Each Proton television combines forward-thinking industrial design with the most advanced electronic engineering available. The result is a line of televisions that regularly win the admiration — and awards — of the industry's leading video and Home Theater institutions.

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