Intermec Inc., the company known as Unova Inc. until January, said it settled a lawsuit filed against Hewlett-Packard Co. over batteries used in notebook computers.

The accord will add $14 million to $18 million to Intermec's operating profit after legal costs, the Everett, Washington-based company said today in regulatory filing. Terms are confidential.

Intermec sued Hewlett-Packard in federal court in Los Angeles in 2002, five days after Hewlett-Packard bought Compaq Computer Corp. Hewlett-Packard claimed it was covered under a settlement Intermec had reached with Compaq. An appeals court said in 2004 the suit should proceed.

Court documents list the suit as settled on Feb. 27, the day a judge ruled against Intermec on the expiration date of a patent in the case.

Hewlett-Packard spokesman Ryan Donovan had no immediate comment. The company, based in Palo Alto, California, is the second-biggest personal-computer maker, behind Dell Inc.

Intermec shares rose 19 cents to $32.10 at 11:18 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Hewlett-Packard rose 26 cents to $33.02.

The case is Unova Inc. v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 02cv3772 ER, U.S. District Court, Central District of California.

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