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." ############################################################## TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8c ############################################################## To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TECHNET ############################################################## Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. If you need assistance - contact Gayatri Sardeshpande at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5365 ##############################################################