Solomon Technologies, Inc. announced today that it has filed an action against Toyota Motor Corporation in federal district court in Tampa, Florida for infringement of Solomon's Electric Wheel(R) patent. Solomon alleges that the hybrid transmission drive in the Toyota Prius and Highlander infringes a number of claims contained in its U.S. Patent No. 5,067,932. In the lawsuit Solomon is asking for an injunction barring further infringement as well as damages for the unauthorized use of its patent by Toyota.

Solomon President Peter DeVecchis said, "We commenced this lawsuit based on extensive review and research including a thorough review by our special patent counsel, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., of the basis of our claims. In determining this course of action we examined an existing Toyota Prius transmission against our patent claims." Mr. DeVecchis further stated, "While we are aware of the difficulties faced by a small company seeking to protect its patent rights against a large company like Toyota, we are determined to use every effort to realize for our shareholders the benefits from our patented technology."

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Solomon Technologies, Inc. has been successfully installing and supporting marine installations of its patented and proprietary electric motor drive systems around the world. Solomon currently provides propulsion systems for new and retrofit marine applications as well as motors for high growth, high volume land based vehicle and machinery applications. Solomon, through its proprietary propulsion systems and patented Electric Wheel(R) technology, offers a unique electric motor design with an ability to efficiently regenerate electricity and leads the way in the recreational boating industry's adoption of the fundamental new technology.