Short Take: Anti-virus firms settle patent disputes

Trend Micro and Network Associates announced they have settled their patent disputes and cross-licensed their patent portfolios, ending all pending federal lawsuits. Both parties' patent infringement lawsuits will be dismissed as a result of the settlement between the two anti-virus software companies. The Trend Micro lawsuit focused on its patent issued in 1997 concerning scanning for viruses in electronic mail and Internet data transfers. The Network Associates lawsuit focused on its patent issued in 2000 concerning embedding anti-virus technology into Internet and network applications