US company sues over printing patent
Pitney Bowes, the US-based technology and services provider,
announced this week that it is suing eight companies for
infringement of a patent which enhances the resolution of laser jet
printing. The same patent was the subject of a recent $400 million
settlement with Hewlett-Packard. The suits were filed in a
Connecticut district court.
Actions were filed against Apple Computer, Lexmark International,
Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, Panasonic Personal
Computers , NEC Technologies, Samsung Electronics America, Samsung
Electronics Company, and Xerox for infringement of Pitney Bowes'
“272” patent, which specifically covers the technology that uses
various sized dots to eliminate any unevenness on the edges of type
in laser jet printouts.
"We are currently engaged in discussions with these companies and
seek a business resolution to these claims," said Michael E.
Melton, an in-house lawyer with Pitney Bowes. "We will continue to
look for ways to strategically leverage our intellectual property
assets for licensing, and to form partnerships that will further
enable us to deliver mission-critical, best-in-class solutions to
our customers."
