‘Euro infringes on patent’

A COMPANY that specialises in anti-counterfeiting technology has claimed Europe’s common currency infringes on a patent obtained from a New York inventor’s family.

Document Security Systems said in a lawsuit filed yesterday in Luxembourg that all 30 billion euro bank notes in circulation infringed on a patent it acquired this year that was issued by the European Patent Office in 1999. It is seeking unspecified royalties from the European Central Bank in Frankfurt.

The patent covers a method of incorporating an anti-counterfeiting feature into bank notes or similar security documents to protect against forgeries by digital scanning and copying devices, the company said.

“The euro is not the only currency utilising our technologies without authorisation,” said the company’s chief executive, Patrick White.

“We believe there are a significant number of other currencies and also traveller’s cheques that contain our patented technologies on an unlicensed basis.

“We plan on addressing each and every instance in order to derive the maximum benefit from our intellectual properties on behalf of shareholders,” he said.