By Pete Brush

Law360, New York (March 18, 2010, 1:05 PM ET) -- Electronics component maker Avago Technologies U.S. Inc. has fired off a patent infringement suit against semiconductor company STMicroelectronics Inc. over optical navigation technology frequently found in computer mice.

The suit, lodged Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, claims ST has infringed Avago-held U.S. Patent Numbers 5,686,720; 7,652,661; 7,643,007; and 6,172,354 by selling the VT5366 Optical Navigational Sensor, which is found in the Steelseries Kinzu Optical Mouse Model PN 62011, among other products.

The technology eliminates the need for mouse pads...