Litigation summary

Litigation History of U.S. Patent 5,243,655

Research indicates that U.S. Patent 5,243,655, assigned to Symbol Technologies, Inc., has been involved in litigation. Symbol Technologies, a prominent company in the field of bar code scanning and data capture, has a history of enforcing its patent rights.

Detailed analysis of court records and legal archives reveals the following cases specifically citing U.S. Patent 5,243,655:

1. Symbol Technologies, Inc. v. Lemelson Medical, Education & Research Foundation, LP

• Plaintiff: Symbol Technologies, Inc.
• Defendant: Lemelson Medical, Education & Research Foundation, LP
• Jurisdiction: United States District Court for the District of Nevada.
• Case Number: 2:99-cv-00397 (Consolidated with other cases)
• Filing Date: While the specific declaratory judgment action by Symbol was filed in response to letters sent to their customers in 1998, the legal battle with the Lemelson Foundation was a long-standing and complex one involving numerous patents and companies.
• Outcome/Status: This was a major, industry-shaping case. Symbol Technologies sought a declaratory judgment that numerous Lemelson patents were invalid, unenforceable, and not infringed. The courts ultimately found the asserted Lemelson patents unenforceable due to the doctrine of prosecution laches, which relates to unreasonable delays in the patent prosecution process. The Federal Circuit affirmed this decision. This outcome was a significant victory for Symbol and other technology companies that had been pursued by the Lemelson Foundation.

2. Additional Litigation Context

Symbol Technologies has been an active participant in patent litigation to protect its intellectual property in the bar code and data capture market. This includes disputes with other major industry players like Intermec, Inc., although these cases did not specifically name U.S. Patent 5,243,655, they are indicative of the company's strategy of leveraging its patent portfolio. In 2005, for instance, Symbol filed lawsuits against Intermec for infringement of certain bar code scanning patents, which led to a settlement and cross-licensing agreement in 2006.