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US: Bar code scanner merger cleared with patent-licensing conditions

By  |  September 15, 2013

The US Federal Trade Commission announced Friday it has cleared the proposed merger between Honeywell and Intermec following the agreed-upon condition that Honeywell license major bar code scanner patents.

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    A press release offered Friday said the FTC’s ruling will preserve competition in the scanning market. The patents to be licensed, owned by both Honeywell and Intermec, are crucial to the manufacturing of equipment of scanners of two-dimensional barcodes.

    Specifically, the FTC ruled that Honeywell must license the patents to competitor Datalogic IPTECH for the next dozen years.

    According to the press release, the FTC determined that the strictest barrier to entry into the two-dimensional barcode scanner market is the lack of access to relevant intellectual property.

    Full Content: MenaFN

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