In a message dated 10/19/1999 9:59:49 AM Central Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< TechNetters,
 In simple English, not legalese, can someone explain what this lawsuit
 actually entails from Jerome Lemelson and does it affect board manufacturers,
 assemblers, OEM's or what?  Do we as board manufacturers only have to be
 concerned with this lawsuit?  I'm feeling a little lazy and don't want to
 have to peruse the whole package received from the IPC if I don't have to!
 Thanks for any help,
 Scott A. Bowles
 Engineering Manager
 Sovereign Circuits Inc. >>

Hi Scott!

You piqued my interest, I had never heard of the Lemelson Patent. So I
searched the NET. What it basically is that Jerome Lemelson claims he owns
certain patents that have to do with machine-vision and bar-coding. From what
I've gathered so far, he has a pretty strong case. The big three automakers
have settled with his foundation (he's dead now, but there is a Jerome
Lemelson Foundation legal staff that is pushing these lawsuits) So in
essence, anybody that uses bar-coding or any machine-vision could be affected
by this whole deal. I'll paste one of the articles I found on the NET about
it below.

-Steve Gregory-

Machine Vision Patent Suit Spreads to Chip Makers

PHOENIX
A foundation that holds machine vision patents has sued 26 major
semiconductor manufacturers, alleging that they are infringing on its patents
on machine vision and bar coding. The Lemelson Foundation, which claims to
have machine vision licensing agreements with more than 100 companies around
the world, recently settled a similar case against the Big Three American
automakers.

The foundation seeks triple damages against chip makers, including Intel
Corp., Texas Instruments Inc., Micron Technology Inc., Allegro Microsystems
Inc., Semtech Corp. and Alliance Semiconductor Corp.

Lemelson Foundation attorneys are negotiating with the companies and expect
settlements with most. However, Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said, "We don't
believe our equipment processes infringe on the patents, and it is our
intention to vigorously defend ourselves."

Jerome Lemelson, the man behind the foundation, died in October 1997 as the
fourth most patented American. His machine vision and bar-coding patent
applications were filed in the 1950s and 1960s, but through an extremely
convoluted patent office process, most patents were not granted until the
1980s and early 1990s, when manufacturing processes using the technologies
had become ubiquitous.

Inventors toast Lemelson for having the persistence to shepherd his ideas
through an arduous patent process. However, many companies are resisting
licensing agreements, claiming that he intentionally delayed the issue of
patents to take advantage of manufacturers.
"What he didn't do is write down a lot of stuff that contributed to
scientific arts," said John Horn, a patent attorney for Allen-Bradley of
Milwaukee. Horn and many others contend that Lemelson originally provided
vague descriptions of methods and specifications. It's undisputed that over
the course of patent office delays, Lemelson updated the claims to cover
growing applications.

Jeff Burnstein, director of the Automated Imaging Association, said the group
is preparing a white paper to define precisely what the Lemelson patents
cover and to advise members on how to make decisions about licensing
agreements.

Mike Steir, legal director for Cognex Corp. in Natick, Mass., said he doesn't
believe that Cognex's technology infringes on Lemelson's patents.
Furthermore, he predicted that the foundation "won't sue a vision company
because that's the goose that lays the golden egg."
Hoffman agreed. "It's not our strategy to pursue makers of machine vision
equipment," he said. "We haven't done so, and we won't. We're interested in
the users of machine vision."

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