Appeals Court Upholds Patent Infringement Judgment against Universal Surveillance Systems

Tyco Fire & Security has announced that a federal appeals court has upheld a jury verdict against Universal Surveillance Systems, Inc. for infringement of Sensormatic U.S. Patent No. 5,426,419. The verdict was originally awarded in June 2003 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

The district court found that Universal's UNIPRO anti-theft tag infringed upon the Sensormatic patent for the Supertag anti-theft product and awarded damages based on lost profits and reasonable royalties. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit unanimously affirmed the judgment without comment.

"Sensormatic anti-theft tags are the most widely used tags in the market today and our patented technologies are trusted by our customers to protect billions of dollars worth of inventory worldwide," said John Smith, the vice president/general manager of Tyco Fire & Security's EAS/RFID business. "Tyco is strongly committed to continually improving its Sensormatic technology and to defending those improvements to the benefit of its customers. This court decision helps ensure that we can continue to do so."

There are nearly 1,500 patents/pending patent applications on the Sensormatic anti-theft technology and this portfolio continues to grow. Sensormatic-branded products are distributed around the world by ADT, a part of Tyco Fire & Security.