Honeywell Files Suit Against Sony, Nokia Over LCD Screens

Technology company Honeywell has filed a wide-ranging lawsuit against 34 electronics companies, claiming infringement of a Honeywell patent for technology that increases the brightness of images and that reduces the appearance of certain interference effects on a liquid crystal display (LCD). The company's press release mentions "video game systems" as one of the devices affected by this alleged patent infringement. In addition, Sony Corporation Of America and Nokia Corporation, respectively makers of the LCD-screen utilizing PSP and N-Gage, are two notable video game-related companies mentioned in the lawsuit. However, a copy of the suit obtained by Gamasutra indicated that no specific game hardware is mentioned by name in the lawsuits, and it's likely that Sony's and Nokia's other LCD products, such as televisions and cellphones, are equally targeted by the wide-ranging patent suit, which asks for monetary damages and an injunction to prohibit selling products that infringe its patent. John Donofrio, Vice President of Intellectual Property at Honeywell, noted: "The two largest LCD manufacturers, LG.Philips LCD and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., have previously taken licenses under this fundamental patent", going on to comment: "Honeywell invests millions of dollars in research and development every year, and we aggressively defend our intellectual property to protect that substantial investment."