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Bar Code Settlement Could Cost Auto Industry

10 July 1998

Bar Code Settlement Could Cost Auto Industry Hundreds of Millions

    NEW YORK--July 9, 1998--America's Big Three automakers have quietly agreed pay a fortune in patent fees to a foundation created by inventor Jerome H. Lemelson.
    Hundreds of parts suppliers may also get roped in, Business Week reports, pumping hundreds of millions into the Lemelson Foundation's coffers.
    The terms of the out-of-court settlement reached on June 8, were not announced, but Business Week reports the automakers are probably paying a percentage on each car sold so they can continue to equip their assembly lines with bar-code readers and other automated inspection gear.