AuthenTec wins summary judgment in Atmel patent litigation lawsuit

AuthenTec announced that on May 5 the U.S. District Court of Northern California issued an order in favor of AuthenTec, ruling that its products do not infringe either of the two patents asserted in a lawsuit by Atmel Corporation. The summary judgment concludes that none of AuthenTec’s products infringe any of the patent claims as alleged in a lawsuit filed by Atmel in March 2006. The court also awarded AuthenTec certain costs related to the suit.

AuthenTec Vice President & General Counsel Frederick Jorgensen commented:

From the inception of the lawsuit, we were confident our products did not infringe any of the patent claims alleged by Atmel, and we are very pleased that the court has affirmed our position through the summary judgment. We believe that our technology and intellectual property are the foundation of our market leadership, and we will defend these assets as necessary. We are also very grateful to the excellent work of the Howery LLP law firm, and particularly our lead counsel Denise De Mory.

AuthenTec has the broadest portfolio of silicon-based fingerprint sensors on the market today, and has shipped more than 30 million sensors for use in PCs, cell phones, mobile devices, access control products and other consumer electronics. All of AuthenTec’s sensors utilize the Company’s patented TruePrint® technology to deliver extremely accurate and reliable fingerprint imaging. TruePrint reads below the surface of the skin to the live layer, where a person’s true fingerprint resides. This unique subsurface approach enables AuthenTec sensors to overcome common skin surface conditions to read virtually every fingerprint, every time.