Battle resumes between HP and Xerox

The legal battle between Hewlett-Packard and Xerox continues, with HP suing for alleged breach of contract and patent infringement on its laser printing technology. This latest spat brings the number of patent suits between the printer heavyweight and Xerox to five. The complaint was filed in the US District Court in Boise, Idaho, according to Reuters. It followed what HP claimed were nine months of talks, which resulted in HP canning Xerox's license to use HP TrueRes technology, which sharpens images in colour laser printers. "Unfortunately for both of us, HP reached the point where we felt we had to take action," said Carolyn Ticknor, head of HP's LaserJet Imaging business. Xerox argued it was not in breach of contract because it understood that HP had not terminated the licensing contract. It was reviewing the suit, said a Xerox representative. The other batch of patent infringement cases pending between the two companies concern inkjet technology, touch-screen user interface and technology to enhance printer resolution. HP has been watching its back for the last two years as Xerox has been targeting its prime printer market. ®