St. John's, NL, Canada,
March 14, 2005--
Nautical Data
International Inc. ("NDI") is pleased to announce that
the motion brought by Canadian Hydrographic Services -
Department of Fisheries and Oceans ("CHS") to set
aside or vary the February 10, 2005 order of the Supreme Court
of Newfoundland and Labrador has been postponed. No new hearing
date has been set by the Court. The order issued by Justice Hall
remains in effect restraining CHS from breaching and/or
terminating the CHS Contract.
NDI remains in a
position where it can continue its business as usual.
Background
NDI has an ongoing
contract with CHS (the "CHS Contract"). The CHS
Contract gives NDI the sole worldwide right and license to use,
and sublicense the use of, any data owned by Canada and
maintained by CHS to produce data products and product updates,
to integrate such products with other products and services and
to distribute them directly to NDI's customers or through third
party distributors and value added resellers.
CHS purported to
terminate the CHS Contract effective February 4, 2005. NDI has
not accepted the termination, and strongly believes that CHS had
no basis to do so. As a result, on February 2, 2005, NDI filed a
Notice of Intention to make a Proposal under the Bankruptcy and
Insolvency Act. On February 10, 2005, the Supreme Court of
Newfoundland and Labrador granted an Order restraining CHS from
breaching and/or terminating the CHS Contract.
The Company
NDI is the sole
worldwide distributor of the official Canadian electronic
navigation charts and other digital nautical information. A
privately held Canadian company based in St. John's,
Newfoundland and Labrador, NDI distributes its digital data
products including the CHS certified digital charts under the
brand DigitalOcean® for recreational boating, sports fishing,
and commercial navigation purposes as well as for other
non-navigation applications. In partnership with CHS since 1993,
NDI has successfully developed a comprehensive digital
cartography database comprised of thousands of nautical charts
and other marine information covering navigable Canadian waters
and coastal zones.
In the years since
1993, NDI has worked with CHS to develop, commercialize, and
promote several digital hydrographic products for navigation and
other uses, including raster charts for recreational boaters and
vector charts for commercial shipping, and chart updating
services for all market segments. These products and services
are delivered in an open, transparent, and uniform manner in
keeping with the mandate of CHS to serve the public good.
NDI has invested
substantially in the development and commercialization of data
products and services, and in creating the necessary information
infrastructure and distribution network. NDI's distribution
network consists of more than 75 dealers and value-added
resellers, that spans across the country and abroad.
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For
Further Information Contact:
Renee Halliday, Office Manager
Nautical Data International, Inc.
100 New Gower Street, St. John's, NL
A1C 6K3
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DigitalOcean® is a Registered Trademark of Nautical Data
International, Inc.
