Motorola settles patent dispute with Metrologic

Motorola has settled a long-running patent dispute with Metrologic Instruments, a maker of bar-code scanners.
Motorola inherited the lawsuit as part of its 2006 acquisition of wireless handhold device maker Symbol Technologies. Symbol and Metrologic had been engaged in the spat since early 2002, when Symbol sued Metrologic, claiming that the company had failed to make adequate royalty payments.

Symbol was a maker of wireless barcode scanners that are used by delivery and warehouse workers to keep track of inventory.

In 1996, Metrologic licensed Symbol's barcode scanning technology for use with its handheld scanners, paying Symbol royalties of US$10 per scanner. However, in 2001 Metrologic stopped making these payments, claiming that "product changes had pushed the scanners beyond the scope of definitions laid out in the agreement," according to Symbol.

The actual amount in dispute had been less than $500,000 Metrologic has said.

In June 2003 Metrologic counter-sued, claiming patent infringement.

Monday's agreement settles all pending litigation, and enters Motorola and Metrologic into a patent cross-license deal that covers barcode scanning and mobile computing technology, they said in a statement. Terms of the settlement were not released.