Hewlett-Packard Co has answered Xerox Corp’s patent infringement suit of two weeks ago (CI No 3,411) with one of its own. HP filed suit against Xerox, seeking a permanent injunction that would prohibit Xerox from selling certain copier products that contain what HP contends is its own patented technology. The suit, filed in US District Court in San Francisco, seeks unspecified damages and centers on touch screen user interface technology which HP claims to have patented in 1987. HP estimates that the products in question represent more than $800m in annual revenue to Xerox and says they include Xerox’s new digital copiers, the Document Center 220 and 230. An HP spokesperson said that timing of the suit is not a coincidence and comes as an indirect result of Xerox’s action. After the initial suit, the spokesperson explained, HP made a close review of all of its patents with a view toward Xerox, and in the process discovered the alleged infringement. HP also contends that after the patent review, it is confident that Xerox’s claims against it are invalid.
