Honeywell Sues 34 Companies Over LCD Patent

The lawsuit claims the companies use a patented Honeywell technology for brightening images and reducing interference on displays.

Honeywell has filed a lawsuit against 34 electronics companies claiming infringement of a Honeywell patent for technology that increases the brightness of images and that reduces the appearance of certain interference effects on a liquid crystal display (LCD).

Honeywell’s lawsuit claims the company’s patented technology is being used in a variety of consumer electronics products, including notebook computers, cell phones, personal digital assistants, portable DVD players, portable LCD TVs, video game systems, and digital still cameras.

“Honeywell invests millions of dollars in research and development every year, and we aggressively defend our intellectual property to protect that substantial investment,” said John Donofrio, Vice President of Intellectual Property at Honeywell.

Honeywell’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the district of Delaware, asks for monetary damages and an injunction to prohibit selling products that infringe its patent.

“The two largest LCD manufacturers, LG.Philips LCD and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., have previously taken licenses under this fundamental patent,” said Donofrio. “Honeywell has a long history of successfully licensing proprietary technologies worldwide for non-competing uses as a core component of our strategic business model,” Donofrio said. “We are pleased that LG.Philips and Samsung Electronics are benefiting through their licenses from our technology.”

Defendants named in Honeywell’s lawsuit are:

Apple Computer, Inc.
Argus a/k/a Hartford Computer Group, Inc.
Audiovox Corporation
Casio Computer Co., Ltd.
Casio, Inc.
Concord Cameras
Dell Inc.
Eastman Kodak Company
Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.
Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc.
Fujitsu Limited
Fujitsu America, Inc.
Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc.
Kyocera Wireless Corp.
Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co.
Matsushita Electrical Corporation of America
Navman NZ Limited
Navman U.S.A. Inc.
Nikon Corporation
Nikon Inc.
Nokia Corporation
Nokia Americas
Olympus Corporation
Olympus America, Inc.
Pentax Corporation
Pentax U.S.A., Inc.
Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
Sanyo North America
Sony Corporation
Sony Corporation Of America
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications (U.S.A.) Inc.
Toshiba Corporation
Toshiba America, Inc.