Symbol, Intermec agree to settle RFID dispute

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Two of the pioneering developers of barcode technology used to track inventories said on Tuesday they had agreed to settle a patent dispute on next-generation wireless systems for tracking goods.

Symbol Technologies Inc, which is headquartered in Holtsville, New York and Intermec Technologies Corp, which is based in Everett, Washington, and is a unit of Unova, said they had agreed put all put their legal disputes on hold.

The companies said in a joint statement that they have reached an agreement that settles their intellectual property dispute over radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging.

They said all pending and anticipated legal actions have been placed on hold while the two companies seek to resolve remaining intellectual property disputes.

In June 2004, Intermec filed a patent infringement suit against Matrics Corp, now a part Symbol Technologies, related to Intermec's RFID patents.

Under terms of this agreement between the two companies, Symbol Technologies has joined Intermec's Rapid Start RFID intellectual property licensing program, which covers both RFID tags that are attached to individual items of inventory and the fixed RFID card readers that are used to track inventory.

Symbol agreed to cross-license its own RFID patent portfolio with that of Intermec.

Intermec agreed to file to dismiss its lawsuit in Delaware district court, the companies said.