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DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreen Co. has filed lawsuits against competitors CVS Caremark Corp., Rite Aid Corp. and Shopko Stores Operating Co., claiming that the rivals are using Walgreens’ patented technology for refilling prescriptions with mobile-phone scanners.
Walgreen Co. has filed lawsuits against competitors CVS Caremark Corp., Rite Aid Corp. and Shopko Stores Operating Co., claiming that the rivals are using Walgreens’ patented technology for refilling prescriptions with mobile-phone scanners.
Walgreens obtained its patent earlier this year for a system to “express refill” prescriptions. The “refill by scan” technology permits smartphone users to order refills by scanning a prescription bar code with their mobile device’s camera.
In its lawsuits, filed January 31 in federal court in Wilmington, Del., Walgreens asserted that it is entitled to exclusive use of the invention. The suits said that Walgreens “owns, offers and operates” mobile apps for iPad, iPhone, Windows Phone, Android and BlackBerry devices that incorporate the patented technology, and asserted that its drug store rivals are using the technology without a license.
Walgreens seeks unspecified damages for the alleged patent infringement as well as a court order barring competitors from using the technology.
