Xerox Corp has filed suit against Hewlett-Packard Co, claiming willful patent infringement over technology contained in certain HP ink jet printers and related supplies. Xerox is seeking a permanent injunction that would prohibit HP from selling the products in question. The suit, which also seeks unspecified damages, centers around technology deployed in the printhead cartridges of certain HP color inkjet printers. Xerox asserts that the technology is covered by a patent granted to it in 1990. The disputed products include 10 HP Deskjet printer models, a Photosmart photo printer, two color copiers and three Office Jet Pro printers as well as the cartridges for all of the machines. The majority of the products have been on the market for some time, but a Xerox spokesperson said the company had just discovered the infringement. The suit comes as a result of a more aggressive stance the company has taken recently in examining the competition for potential infringements of its technology, according to the spokesperson. Xerox said it was out to defend its investments in seeking the injunction. It claims to have spent $1.7bn in research and development last year alone, which resulted in 800 patents being awarded to the company. The amount of damages sought in the case is still being determined by Xerox, but the complaint estimates that HP derives about $800m in revenue annually from the sale of the disputed products. A year ago this month, Xerox launched a similar suit against US Robotics Inc, now part of 3Com Corp, alleging infringement of a Xerox- patented handwriting recognition technology which was used in US Robotics’ popular PalmPilot handheld computer. Xerox said that suit is still awaiting trial. HP could not be reached for comment.
