NCR Pact on Bar-Code Scan Patents Upheld
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Customers of NCR Corp., a maker of bar-code scanners for retailers, need not face patent-infringement lawsuits by a foundation that has collected $1 billion in fees from other companies, a U.S. appeals court said.
The Lemelson Medical Education & Research Foundation, which says its late founder, Jerome Lemelson, invented technology used in bar-code scanners, sought to cancel a patent-licensing agreement with NCR that also covered companies that use its products.
The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a contract “unambiguously granted NCR’s customers a license to use bar-code scanning equipment using Lemelson patents.” The two-page opinion issued April 23 said the foundation’s “mistake in agreeing to those terms” didn’t void the agreement.
The Las Vegas-based foundation has successfully sought fees from more than 800 businesses and is suing hundreds of retailers, seeking part of their sales because stores use bar-code scanners to ring up sales.
Shares of Dayton, Ohio-based NCR fell 18 cents to $38.68 on the NYSE.
The foundation’s lawyers couldn’t be reached for comment.
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