Cognex and Matrox dispute software patent

JULY 18--On Tuesday, July 16, 2002, Cognex Corp. (Natick, MA; www.cognex.com) said it had filed a complaint against Matrox Electronic Systems Ltd. (Dorval, Quebec, Canada; www.matrox.com) and its Massachusetts distributor in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Boston. Cognex claims that the Matrox Geometric Model Finder software, and possibly other components, shipped as part of the company's Matrox Imaging Library (MIL), infringes claims of at least one Cognex patent. Cognex is seeking action by the court to stop Matrox from making and selling Geometric Model Finder or any other product that is found to infringe Cognex patents. Cognex is also seeking unspecified damages to compensate for the Matrox patent infringement.

On Wednesday, July 17, 2002, Matrox announced that it had become aware, through a Cognex press release, of the patent-infringement lawsuit. Matrox said it has yet to receive the lawsuit from Cognex.

In a strongly worded statement, the company said that it invests significantly in research and development and is convinced of the integrity of its intellectual property, including its imaging and vision software technology. Matrox is confident that its technology does not infringe upon the intellectual-property rights of any of its competitors, including Cognex. Matrox believes that the Cognex allegations are without merit and will vigorously contest the lawsuit, the statement said.