Here is an article from a recent Control Engineering newsletter... SoftWire's patent infringement lawsuit against NI to proceed
Middleboro, MA―Measurement Computing Corp. and SoftWire Technology Inc. recently announced that the U.S. District Court in Boston granted on Nov. 5, 2003, the two firms' request to allow SoftWire to charge National Instruments (NI) in a pending lawsuit with infringing two patents owned by SoftWire. Judge Robert Keeton delivered the ruling over NI's objections. Subsequently, SoftWire filed an amended complaint accusing NI's LabView product of infringing two of SoftWire's patents. SoftWire alleges that LabView infringes on two virtual instrument technology patents that SoftWire originally acquired from Fluke Corp. These two patents reportedly predate the earliest of NI's patents. SoftWire is seeking unspecified damages for past sales of LabView. SoftWire is also seeking an order prohibiting NI from continuing to sell LabView.
