Honeywell sues Apple, 33 others over LCD patent

Honeywell on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Apple Computer and 33 other 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 lawsuit claims the company's patented technology is being used in a variety of consumer electronics products, including notebook computers, cell phones, personal digital assistants, portable DVD players, portable LCD TVs, video game systems, and digital still cameras.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the district of Delaware, seeks monetary damages and an injunction to prohibit the sale of products that infringe its patent.

Also mentioned in the suit are Sony, Kodak, Sanyo, Toshiba, Matsushita Electrical Corporation, and Dell.

Earlier on Wednesday, Honeywell agreed to pay (US)$2.15 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 at a company it acquired during a 1999 merger.