Intellectual Property News and Reports

By Aiko Wakao

TOKYO (Reuters) - When Canon Inc. (7751.T: Quote, Profile, Research) was sued by a small, money-losing U.S. technology firm two years ago, the dispute was over a patent license that had cost the Japanese electronics giant a one-time payment of $5.6 million.

But now that the lawsuit has caused Canon to lose the license, a fresh agreement with Texas-based Nano-Proprietary Inc. (NNPP.OB: Quote, Profile, Research) could be worth millions of dollars more, lawyers said.

Last week a U.S. court ruled against Canon, saying the company breached its deal with Nano-Proprietary by trying to share the flat display technology with Toshiba Corp. (6502.T: Quote, Profile, Research).

The court's decision comes as a major setback and perhaps an embarrassment for Tokyo-based Canon, the third-biggest patent owner in the United States.

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