Scanning and productivity solutions company Honeywell filed a lawsuit this week against Code Corp., a Salt Lake City, Utah-based company that manufactures barcode readers.
The filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina accuses the company of widespread patent infringement related to multiple patents related to Honeywell’s barcode scanning technology. The patents mentioned in the lawsuit surround Honeywell innovations that make barcode readers easier to use, operate faster and more accurately.
"Honeywell has and continues to invest millions of dollars in developing new, innovative products and offerings,” said Lisa London, president of Honeywell’s Productivity Products business in a press release. “We welcome competition, but we have zero tolerance for those who infringe our intellectual property. Protecting patents is critical to ensuring a level playing field for all market players."
Honeywell hopes to prevent Code Corp. from using its technology in barcode readers, including the CR2600 and seeks to recover damages caused by the patent infringements.
The specific Honeywell patents involved are:
• U.S. Patent No. 6,039,258: “Hand-held portable data collection terminal system”
• U.S. Patent No. 6,249,008: “Code reader having replaceable optics assemblies supporting multiple illuminators”
• U.S. Patent No. 6,491,223: “Autodiscriminating Optical Reader”
• U.S. Patent No. 6,538,413: “Battery pack with capacity and pre-removal indicators”
• U.S. Patent No. 6,607,128: “Optical assembly for bar code scanner”
• U.S. Patent No. 8,096,472: “Image sensor assembly for optical reader”
“We helped pioneer the bar code scanning market in the 1970s, and over the years our new innovations have helped thousands of retailers, distributors, healthcare organizations and industrial users achieve significant improvements in efficiency, speed and accuracy in their operations,” London said. “Fair competition means respecting the patent rights of others.”
