It was June 2005 and Intermec Technologies Corp. was in trouble. The Everett, Washington-based company was mired in three different patent infringement suits with New York-based Symbol Technologies Inc., an S&P 500 company with annual earnings of $1.75 billion and a reputation as a fierce courtroom opponent.

The lawsuits over mobile computing technology already had dragged on for more than a year, and it looked like Intermec would be stuck in court for many years to come.