News

Happ ceases sale of touchscreens covered by Tyco patent

January 8, 2004

FREMONT, Calif. -- Elo TouchSystems Inc., a business unit of Tyco Electronics, said its affiliate, Tyco Electronics Logistics AG, has settled its patent-infringement dispute in the United Kingdom with Happ Controls Europe Limited.

Tyco Electronics Logistics AG is the proprietor of European Patent No. 0 190 734 for surface-wave touch panels and Elo is the exclusive licensee. Happ has agreed to cease all

sales of touchscreens covered by the European patent and will reimburse Tyco for its legal expenses, according to a news release.

"Elo and Tyco take any infringement of their intellectual property rights very seriously," said Mark Mendenhall, president of Elo TouchSystems. "We will continue to monitor the marketplace to identify any products that infringe the European Patent or any other of our intellectual property rights, and will take appropriate action where necessary."

The release said Elo invented touchscreen technology in 1971 and has since established itself as a global leader in touch technology. "Elo's product innovation and its attention to vertical market trends and specific customer needs have made it the top revenue company in the touch industry," said Mendenhall in the release.

"As touch-input solutions become more widespread, even becoming the de facto standard for certain applications, Elo provides solutions to an ever-expanding customer base in a wide range of applications within the retail, hospitality, industrial, gaming/amusement, medical, financial, and education markets."