ATLANTA – Manheim has filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta alleging patent infringement by Auction Management Solutions, Inc. (AMS). The suit alleges that AMS's OnLine Ringman product infringes Manheim's U.S. Patent No. 5,774,873 entitled, "Electronic On-Line Motor Vehicle Auction and Information System."

"Manheim will use every appropriate legal channel available to vigorously protect our patents and other intellectual property," said Dean Eisner, Manheim's president and chief executive officer.

According to Manheim, it uses technology innovation to help its customers derive greater value, efficiencies, and convenience from the automobile remarketing process. One of the company's more recent advances is the Manheim Simulcast online auction system – an online buying and selling resource with more than 200,000 vehicles sold in 2004. Simulcast is fully integrated into Manheim's operating system, allowing dealers and consignors using Simulcast to have more information about vehicles offered for sale and auction participants. Since its inception three years ago, the total value of all vehicles sold via Manheim Simulcast-equipped auction facilities exceeds $36 billion.