At press time, a U.S. district court in Chicago granted Deere's request for summary judgment and dismissed a patent infringement suit filed by Caterpillar involving rubber tracked tractors. "We maintained that our track system did not violate patents held by Caterpillar," says B.L. Hardiek, president of Deere's worldwide ag equipment division. "The court indicated that no reasonable jury could find that Deere infringed upon the Caterpillar patent." Caterpillar is requesting an appeal.