3M settles its patent dispute with Batteries.com
Batteries.com has agreed to sell a certain type of lithium laptop battery as part of a patent infringement settlement with 3M Corp.
In March 3M filed a patent infringement complaint in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota. The complaint charged that Sony Corp., Lenovo, Matsushita Industrial Electric Co. Ltd., Panasonic Corp. of North America, Hitachi Ltd. and others violated 3M patents for the makeup of cathode material used in lithium-ion batteries distributed and sold in the U.S.
As part of the settlement, Batteries.com, No. 404 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, agreed to acknowledge the validity and infringement of 3M’s patent rights. Batteries.com also agreed to sell batteries containing cells manufactured by a licensed 3M lithium ion battery supplier and to discontinue selling certain other brands that 3M contends infringes on its patents.
Other terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed. Over the past 10 years 3M says it has invested significant resources in the design, development and commercialization of advanced material technologies for lithium ion battery applications.
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