
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 7, 1995                   TAG: 9503070134
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JAN VERTEFEUILLE
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

SALEM FIRM SUES OVER LOCK PATENT

A Salem lock manufacturer has filed suit against a Swedish competitor and its U.S. subsidiaries for patent infringement.

In a federal lawsuit, Medeco Security Locks Inc. charges that Securitas Lock Group Inc. and Assa Inc., both of Brooklyn, N.Y., have marketed locks that infringe on a patent assigned to Medeco in 1982.

Medeco seeks a permanent injunction against Assa and its related companies, including Securitas, forbidding them from using the patent. Medeco also is seeking damages for Assa's ``willful'' infringement, as well as attorneys' fees and costs.

In its suit, Medeco said it wrote to Assa last July to inform the company it was infringing on the Salem company's patent.

The patent is for a cylinder lock whose core is removable from the outer lock shell. The removable cylinder allows the keyway or the combination to be changed without removing the shell from wherever it is attached.

by CNB