04 June 2024

PCI-PAL PLC

("PCI Pal", the "Company" or "the Group")

Further details following successful Court of Appeal hearing

PCI-PAL PLC (AIM: PCIP), the global cloud provider of secure payment solutions for business communications, is pleased to provide an update following the successful outcome of the Court of Appeal hearing regarding its patent litigation with its competitor, Sycurio Limited ("Sycurio").

Victory in Court of Appeal

Following the Company's announcement on 22 May 2024 that the Court of Appeal had dismissed Sycurio's appeal, upholding the original ruling of the High Court, which was resoundingly in PCI Pal's favour, the Company advises investors that the judgment has now been handed down and is publicly available at https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewca/civ/2024/606.

Sycurio patent invalid

This order means that the ruling of the High Court invalidating Sycurio's UK patent (No. 2473376) stands and the patent has been revoked.  The Company notes that the High Court had also ruled that even in the event that the patent had been valid, none of PCI Pal's deployment methods of its Agent Assist solution would have infringed.

Payments to PCI Pal for costs

The Company can now confirm that it has received a cash payment of the interim costs awarded by the High Court on 19 December 2023 of £1.1 million.  The Company also updates investors that Sycurio has agreed to pay a further £0.2 million for the costs of the appeal process.  PCI Pal expects to receive these additional funds in the next two weeks.

The Company is still considering its options with regards to the remaining element of costs.  The High Court trial noted that the payment received of £1.1 million was an interim payment only.  The Company will assess its potential next steps with its advisors and update investors in due course.

US litigation

The case in the US continues as expected with the trial scheduled for February 2025.  The UK outcome has provided further strong validation for PCI Pal's position, both that it does not infringe and also in its counterclaims that Sycurio's patents are invalid. 

For further information, please contact:

About PCI Pal:

PCI Pal is a leading provider of Software-as-a-Service ("SaaS") solutions that empower companies to take payments from their customers securely, adhere to strict industry governance, and remove their business from the significant risks posed by non-compliance and data loss. Our products secure payments and data in any business communications environment including voice, chat, social, email, and contact centre. We are integrated to, and resold by, some of the worlds' leading business communications vendors, as well as major payment service providers.

The entirety of our product-base is available from our global cloud platform hosted in Amazon Web Services ("AWS"), with regional instances across EMEA, North America, and ANZ.

For more information visit www.pcipal.com or follow the team on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pci-pal/