Canadian Patent Office Grants Clearances Patent to

Thomasville, North Carolina, June 16, 2006--On June 6, 2006, the Canadian Patent Office granted the so-called clearances patent to Unilin. The patent has been issued as CA 2,475,076. The patent protects a wide range of glueless joint systems for wood-based flooring panels and claims a priority date of 1996. In August of 2005, the United States Patent Office issued the American counterpart of this clearances patent as US 6,928,779 and in October of the same year, the European Patent Office granted the European counterpart as EP 1 223 267. With this newly granted patent CA 2,475,076, Unilin significantly extends its intellectual property rights in Canada in the field of glueless flooring panels. This patent is considered a valuable additional tool for Unilin to enforce the respect for its developments in this field.