Bar code patents thrown out

A rare case of justice:

A federal district court judge invalidated patents on bar code products--in a victory over one of the technology's most prolific patent collectors.

Philip Pro, chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, on Jan. 23 ruled against defendant the Lemelson Medical, Education & Research Foundation, calling the claims of 14 of its patents--some of which dated from the 1950s--invalid and unenforceable. [News.com]