P.M. BRIEFING : IBM Sued Over Security System

MIU Automation Corp. said today it filed a lawsuit against International Business Machines Corp. alleging IBM is illegally using its patent for a personal computer security system.

The suit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, alleges that IBM infringed upon MIU’s patent for a personal computer security system called INTRA-LOCK. MIU, a unit of MIU Industries Ltd. of Canada, claims that Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM recently began selling a product using MIU’s technology.

MIU is seeking a preliminary injunction to block IBM from further selling or shipping the product and unspecified damages.

The Canadian company said potential lost sales for the security products over the 17 years of its patent could reach $40 billion. MIU claims extensive technical information on INTRA-LOCK was supplied to IBM in talks about a possible joint venture between the two companies.