General Patent Settles Lawsuit with HID Global over RFID Smart Cards Patents

Online, November 30, 2009 (Newswire.com) - Suffern, N.Y., November 30, 2009 âˆ' General Patent Corporation (GPC), a leading patent licensing and enforcement firm, announced today on behalf of its client, Leighton Technologies LLC, that it has settled all pending lawsuits with HID Global Corporation (HID) of Irvine, Calif., and licensed Leighton's patents to HID, a leading manufacturer of employee and student ID cards, driver's licenses and transaction cards such as cashless payment, fare collection, vending and loyalty cards.

Leighton Technologies LLC owns several U.S. Patents that generally relate to the lamination process for RFID (or "contactless") cards that use an embedded chip to enable secure financial payments and access to secure locations.

All parties to two lawsuits âˆ' HID Corporation, Indala Corporation and AccessID, Inc. v. Leighton Technologies LLC and General Patent Corporation which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (CV-SACV05-513) and HID Global Corporation v. Keith R. Leighton which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (1:07CV1972) - agreed to a settlement that included a license for HID Global for the Leighton patents.

"We are very pleased to reach an amicable agreement with HID Global and the other parties to these lawsuits, and to license the Leighton patents to HID," said Paul Lerner, General Patent's Sr. Vice President and General Counsel.

HID Global is the second transaction card OEM to license Leighton Technologies' patents. General Patent granted a license for the Leighton patents to Oberthur Technologies of America Corporation in 2008.

About Leighton Technologies LLC
Leighton Technologies LLC is the owner of six U.S. Patents:
1. 5,817,207: "Radio frequency identification card and hot lamination process for the manufacture of radio frequency identification cards"
2. 6,036,099: "Hot lamination process for the manufacture of a combination contact/contactless smart card and product resulting therefrom"
3. 6,214,155: "Radio frequency identification card and hot lamination process for the manufacture of radio frequency identification cards"
4. 6,441,736: "Ultra-thin flexible durable radio frequency identification devices and hot or cold lamination process for the manufacture of ultra-thin flexible durable radio frequency identification devices"
5. 6,557,766: "Hot lamination method for a hybrid radio frequency optical memory card converting sheets into a web process"
6. 6,514,367: "Hot lamination process for the manufacture of a combination contact/contactless smart card"
Leighton Technologies is a portfolio company of IP Holdings LLC, and is managed by General Patent Corporation. A non-exclusive license under the patents is available on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. For licensing terms, please contact Kathlene Ingham at (845) 368-4000 x107. For more information, please visit www.leighton-tech.com.

About General Patent Corporation
General Patent Corporation, headquartered in Suffern, N.Y., is a leading intellectual property boutique focusing on patent licensing and enforcement. GPC represents patent owners in patent enforcement and assertive licensing matters, and assists patent owners with patent infringement claims and patent litigation on a contingency basis. General Patent also provides IP valuation, IP strategy and technology transfer services. General Patent is the oldest patent enforcement firm in the US and is the managing member of Leighton Technologies. For more information, visit www.generalpatent.com.

About IP Holdings LLC
IP Holdings LLC, an affiliate of General Patent Corporation, is an IP centric merchant banking organization. IP Holdings provides IP-related financial services and IP brokerage services, and operates an idea incubator. IP Holdings is a member of Leighton Technologies. For more information on IP Holdings, visit www.ip-holdings.com.

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