By PETER GRIFFIN AND NZPA
Inventor Peter Witehira has buried his long-running fight with Warehouse founder Stephen Tindall, accepting a $520,000 payment for his company's stake in 3D screen maker Deep Video Imaging.
And Deep Video Imaging has chosen to put the saga behind it by changing the company name to Pure Depth.
Witehira, who through his company Power Beat developed the "never-go flat" car battery, effectively severs ties with the technology company he helped to found.
But the settlement with Tindall includes Power Beat acquiring the rights to UClic - another Tindall-Witehira technology collaboration - for $50,000.
Witehira will this month update shareholders on Power Beat's progress. The company lost $680,000 in the year to March 31.
Its focus now is developing MegaMantis, a wireless communications technology. Last year, the company posted a loss of $3.6 million.
Shareholders' original $18.6 million investment in Power Beat is now worth $1.3 million.
Power Beat plans to release new products in the next couple of years, including closed-circuit TV and data transfer, the use of LEDs and photo sensors for remote ordering.
Tindall's foray into tech investment included taking a stake in Deep Video Imaging alongside Power Beat in 1999. The following year, Power Beat sold 34.6 per cent of Deep Video Imaging to listed venture capital company IT Capital. But Witehira last year took IT Capital and Tindall to court in an attempt to overturn the sale.
The dispute went to court last year but Witehira's case was thrown out. He finally agreed to sell his remaining stake in Deep Video Imaging after mediation with Tindall.
Pure Depth in May unveiled a multi-layer screen aimed at the financial market and priced at $1800.
The success of that and other products will determine whether Tindall and fellow shareholders profit from the company.
Witehira moves on after tech firm spat
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