Feb 4 2010
AuthenTec (NASDAQ: AUTH), the world’s leading provider of smart fingerprint sensors and solutions, announced that it has filed legal claims today against UPEK, Inc. for the infringement of five AuthenTec patents and trade secret misappropriation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. AuthenTec is seeking an injunction against UPEK as well as punitive and monetary damages by way of a jury trial.
In a detailed letter dated January 23, 2010, AuthenTec notified UPEK of its claim that UPEK products infringe five AuthenTec U.S. patents covering AuthenTec’s sensor, security and packaging technologies. AuthenTec also claims that UPEK misappropriated trade secrets by withholding and interfering with property acquired and owned by AuthenTec through its asset purchase of Atrua Technologies, Inc. The lawsuit states that UPEK’s wrongful actions caused interference with the use and possession of this property and that UPEK’s use of these materials was intended to obtain an unfair and improper competitive advantage and substantially damaged AuthenTec.
Although in its January 23 letter, AuthenTec had provided UPEK thirty (30) days to respond to its claims in order to provide adequate time for UPEK to resolve the matter outside of the court system, UPEK instead filed a claim on January 29 alleging that AuthenTec violated a single UPEK patent. AuthenTec believes that UPEK’s allegation is frivolous and completely without merit.
AuthenTec is an ISO9001-certified provider of smart sensors and solutions for security, identity management and touch control with the broadest product and IP portfolio in the silicon fingerprint sensor industry, which includes 121 issued and pending U.S. patents.