Xerox Corp has filed a second patent infringement lawsuit against Hewlett-Packard Co, this time alleging that HP stole text- handling software. The suit claims that certain unnamed HP printers are handling low-resolution raster images with technology patented by Xerox in 1984. Xerox wants damages and an injunction preventing HP from profiting any further from its ideas. Xerox last filed suit against HP in May, accusing the company of profiting from Xerox printheads and ink cartridges to the tune of some $800m a year (CI No 3,411). HP promptly counter-sued, saying Xerox had stolen its touch-screen photocopier interface. Both lawsuits are pending – although no one will be surprised if the cases are settled out of court. Like Lycos Inc, Xerox is known as an aggressive defender of its patents. Last year the company set up a corporate infringement lab in Stamford, Connecticut, where Xerox workers reverse engineer rival companies’ technology searching for anything that might have been stolen.
