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A Federal High Court in Lagos has adjourned till Dec. 13, hearing in the suit challenging the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC)'s award of the contract to procure Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines awarded to three firms.
The plaintiff, Technocrat Consult and IT System Ltd, had sued the INEC and three firms for excluding it from the contract to procure the machines.
The firms joined in the suit were Zinox Technologies Ltd, Haier Electrical Appliances Corporation and Avante International Technology Inc.
In the suit, the plaintiff argued that it ought not to have been excluded from the award of the contract because it invented an integral part of the machine and had the patent right in Nigeria.
The plaintiff is claiming N8 billion as damages for the breach of contract.
Technocrat Consult and IT System Ltd claimed it invented the technique-portable telecommunication device used in biometric identification, with the patent right No RP: NG/P/2010/283 on the invention.
The invention, the plaintiff added, comprised a portable and lightweight fingerprint apparatus, which can scan and record fingerprint images in the field.
It said that the images could subsequently be wirelessly transmitted to a central transactional unit for the purpose of providing immediate identity and background checks on the individuals being fingerprinted.
It also alleged that INEC infringed on its patent right when it included the technique in the DDC machines contract, which was awarded to Zinox, Haier and Avante International, without its permission.
The plaintiff is therefore asking the court to restrain the defendants and their agents from importing, manufacturing or distributing the DDC machines within the scope of its registered patent on the technique.
It further prayed the court to hold that it was the original author/inventor of the technique, contending that the defendants' DDC machines infringed on his patent right.
When the matter came up before Justice Okechukwu Okeke on Friday, the plaintiff's counsel, Norrisson Quakers, told the court that he was ready to go on with the case.
"We served all the defendants with the court processes so I am ready, with the permission of the court, to go on with the case," he said.
Yusuff Asama-Kadiri, the Defence Counsel to Haier Electrical Appliances Corporation, said that his client, based in China, had not been served court processes and urged the court to adjourn the case to enable the plaintiff to serve them.
The judge thereafter re-issued his earlier order directing the plaintiff to retrieve the proof of service from the DHL office and file same before the court.
Mr Okeke ordered that the companies which are based abroad could be served the court processes through courier services and that the proof of service should be filed before the court.
