Intermec has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against competitor Matrics Inc. The complaint alleges that Matrics' RFID (radio-frequency identification) products and systems infringe upon Intermec's intellectual property and asks that Matrics pay the plaintiff a reasonable royalty.

In question are four patents that Intermec acquired from IBM Research, through its 1997 acquisition of Amtech Corp., or obtained through its own RFID research and development. Intermec's complaint alleges that Matrics has infringed on the patents, all of which were made, filed, and issued or pending before Matrics was founded.

In seeking royalties as compensation for the alleged infringements, Intermec appears to be looking to make Matrics pay a fee similar to those paid by other companies that license Intermec's RFID technologies.