Evanston, IL -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/21/2006 --A law suit was filed today on behalf of APTE Inc. against Sakar International of Edison, N.J. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. APTE has brought this action in response to Sakar’s alleged willful contract violations and to protect and prevent the destruction of the goodwill and consumer recognition APTE has worked hard to secure over the last seventeen years in the education publishing industry. Also named in the suit were Radio Shack Corporation, CompUSA, Target Corporation, distributors and retailers of the products at issue.

In 2004 APTE licensed to Sakar International SnapKids, a children’s photo-editing software program. In addition, the law suit states APTE provided Sakar with its unique Trade Dress for its product packaging. The complaint alleges further that together with APTE’s the software and Trade Dress, Sakar was able to quickly bring to market its “KidzCam” product and that KidzCam has become a very successful product for Sakar.

The suit also alleges that recently, without APTE’s knowledge or consent, Sakar substituted for the SnapKids software another program that mimics the exact same features as SnapKids. In addition to violating the software contract, the suit claims that Sakar has sold and continues to sell this counterfeit product in a substantially identical package. The appearance, look and feel of this counterfeit product, the suit claims, was intended to appear to be the same as the product APTE owned and licensed to Sakar.

APTE further alleges that Sakar’s actions have breached its written Agreements with APTE and that this counterfeit product creates confusion with the public and, in particular, the education community. The suit also contends that the counterfeit program has damaged APTE’s reputation because it includes images, such as guns and skeletons that are banned by many states and local school districts. Because APTE’s primary markets are schools, teachers and students, the suit requests the court to immediately stop the distribution and sale of the Sakar counterfeit software.

APTE has been creating award-winning products for the education market since 1990. Established at Northwestern University Research Park, APTE is a woman owned business enterprise. The guiding principle behind all APTE products is the belief that higher thinking skills are built on a solid foundation of visual learning. The company’s photo products are used in schools around the world. The Wall Street Journal, Parenting Magazine, Closing the Gap and Media&Methods have all praised the excellence and educational value of APTE’s learning products. For more information about APTE, visit www.apte.com