BYU sues Hitachi unit for patent infringement

Brigham Young University has sued Hitachi High-Technologies Corp., a Japanese seller of equipment for laboratories, accusing the company of infringing a patent related to chemical-testing machines.

Brigham Young and Torion Technologies Inc., a closely held Utah company, claim Hitachi High-Technologies NanoFrontier machines use mass-spectrometry inventions developed at the university and licensed to Torion. They want cash compensation and an order that prevents further use of the invention without permission.

Hitachi High-Technologies has filed at least three patent applications for the NanoFrontier machine, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office initially rejected one of them by saying the invention was covered by the Brigham Young patent, according to the complaint filed Monday in federal court in Salt Lake City.

Even so, Tokyo-based Hitachi High-Technologies sold the NanoFrontier without authority or license from BYU or Torion and in violation of BYU's and Torion's exclusive rights, the university and Torion said in the complaint.

Officials with Hitachi High-Technologies in Schaumburg, Ill., didn't immediately return messages seeking comment. The company is a unit of Hitachi Ltd., a Japanese supplier of plasma televisions, nuclear reactors and software services.