NW_20020501_en_VASCO Answers ActivCard Lawsuit and Files Counterclaim

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. and BRUSSELS, Belgium, May 1, 2002 – VASCO Data Security International, Inc. (Nasdaq NM and Nasdaq Europe: VDSI: www.vasco.com ), a global provider of enterprise-wide security products that support e-business and e-commerce, today replied to ActivCard’s (NasdaqNM:ACTI ) patent and trade dress lawsuit by filing its own lawsuit for a declaratory judgment of invalidity, non-infringement and unenforceability of ActivCard’s patent.

VASCO also seeks injunctive relief and damages related to ActivCard’s behavior in the marketplace that in VASCO’s view constitutes unlawful business practices and interferes with VASCO’s commercial relationships.

VASCO maintains that its products do not infringe ActivCard’s patent, and that serious questions exist regarding the validity of the ActivCard patent.

With respect to trade dress infringement, VASCO notes that ActivCard’s product design is not unique and is in fact indistinguishable from a common pocket calculator.

VASCO states in its response and counterclaim filed in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware that “VASCO has not and does not infringe, contribute to the infringement of, or actively induce others to infringe” and that “the use and/or operation of VASCO products does not infringe”. VASCO also states in the filing that “VASCO seeks injunctive relief and damages for unfair competition, interference with contractual relationships and/or prospective economic advantage, all engaged by ActivCard in violation of the laws of the United States and the State of California and other jurisdictions.”

“VASCO does not believe that ActivCard’s suit has any merit”, said Mario Houthooft, CEO of VASCO. “VASCO will vigorously defend itself and our proprietary technology, against this groundless lawsuit.” Houthooft continued, “VASCO was forced to file a suit because of the baseless claims and allegations made by ActivCard to VASCO’s customers and potential customers. We are pleased to engage in a fair comparison of our products with any competitor in the marketplace, but we will not tolerate unfair competition and baseless allegations against our Company.”

About VASCO
VASCO secures the enterprise from the mainframe to the Internet with infrastructure solutions that enable secure e-business and e-commerce, protect sensitive information, and safeguard the identity of users. The Company's family of Digipass® and VACMAN® products offers end-to-end security through strong authentication, digital signature, network Single Sign-On, and Radius, LAN and Web security, while sharply reducing the time and effort required to deploy and manage security. VASCO's customers include hundreds of financial institutions, blue-chip corporations, and government agencies in more than 50 countries. More information is available at www.vasco.com.

Forward Looking Statements
Statements made in this news release that relate to future plans, events or performances are forward-looking statements. Any statement containing words such as ``believes,'' ``anticipates,'' ``plans,'' ``expects,'' and similar words, is forward-looking, and these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations. Consequently, actual results could differ materially from the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements.
Reference is made to the Company's public filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for further information regarding the Company and its operations.

For more information contact:

VASCO Data Security:
Media:
Jochem Binst, +32 479 980 947, [email protected]
Investor Relations:
Annemieke Blondeel, USA +1 630 932 8844, Europe +44 20 8298 99 60, [email protected]