Code Corp., a Salt Lake City-based designer and manufacturer of barcode reading hardware and software, has announced that it will "vigorously" challenge a lawsuit filed on Jan. 20 by Honeywell, the multinational conglomerate that produces a wide variety of commercial and consumer products. The suit accuses Code of infringing on six of Honeywell’s patents related to the company’s barcode scanning technology, allegations that Code asserts are completely unfounded.
“We will contest this frivolous lawsuit until completely exonerated by the legal system,” said Code CEO George Powell in a press statement. “Code will continue to serve its loyal end-users and expand our CodeAlliance partner network by earning our customers’ business and loyalty through our cutting-edge technology and excellent service. Code has been in the barcode scanning business for almost 20 years and has organically built a suite of products and intellectual property that are widely used in the healthcare market. We will not let Honeywell’s litigious behavior affect our customer relationships in any way.”
Honeywell is a relatively recent entrant in the barcode scanning market and has done so primarily through acquisitions. The six patents at issue in Honeywell’s lawsuit were written and originally filed 18-20 years ago by Welch Allyn, Norand, HHP and Intermec prior to being acquired by Honeywell, according to Code. U.S. patents generally have a 20-year life. Two of the patents have already expired, two more will expire by mid-year, and the remaining two are based on a Welch Allyn technology not relevant to Code’s products, the company said.
“Honeywell has and continues to invest millions of dollars in developing new, innovative products and offerings,” said Lisa London, president of Honeywell’s Productivity Products business. “We welcome competition, but we have zero tolerance for those who infringe our intellectual property. Protecting patents is critical to ensuring a level playing field for all market players.
“We helped pioneer the barcode scanning market in the 1970s and over the years our new innovations have helped thousands of retailers, distributors, healthcare organizations and industrial users achieve significant improvements in efficiency, speed and accuracy in their operations,” London said. “Fair competition means respecting the patent rights of others.”
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, seeks to prevent Code from using Honeywell’s patented technology in its bar code readers, including its CR2600 model and to recover damages caused by the infringement.
Garrett Russell, vice president of sales and marketing at Code, explained that in his view, Honeywell’s action against Code may be driven by Code’s strong position in the healthcare market. “Code continues to deliver product ingenuity and excellence and Honeywell may be resorting to other means to try to gain market share from Code,” he said.
Code was founded in 1997 and has regional headquarters in China, Singapore and the Netherlands in addition to its Salt Lake City headquarters.