On Aug. 10, Judge Thomas M. Coffin of the U.S. District Court threw out HELP's motion to dismiss the transponder interoperability lawsuit filed by the Oregon Department of Transportation against Heavy Vehicle Electronic License Plate Inc. (HELP Inc.).

"We filed a declaratory judgment action on Feb. 8, asking the District Court to decide if it is lawful for Oregon to enroll transponders belonging to the HELP Inc. PrePass system into the Green Light truck weigh-in-motion program," said ODOT Deputy Director Gregg Dal Ponte, who is in charge of ODOT's Motor Carrier Transportation Division. "HELP's first response was to file a motion to dismiss the case; however, the court's review denied that request. The decision now clears the way for a trial of the case."

In a declaratory judgment against action complaint filed Feb. 8, the Oregon Department of justice has asked the court if enrolling the identification code from a PrePass transponder into Green Light would violate any federal or state law or regulation.

Oregon is seeking to use the PrePass transponder in its Green Light system because the technologies are compatible. "It just seems reasonable that a motor carrier should only have one transponder in the truck. If our equipment can read HELP's transponders, why not allow truckers to enroll those devices, instead of making them carry more than one?" Dal Ponte said.

Thousands of trucks operating in Oregon today have a PrePass transponder that they use when they pre-clear weigh stations in California and many other states. Although the transponders are the same type used in Oregon's program, HELP PrePass considers its transponders proprietary, and has set a restrictive policy that keeps anyone from using them without permission.

Oregon's disagreement with HELP dates back to 1998 when the state, at the request of truckers, enrolled about 100 PrePass transponders in the Green Light system. In December 1998, HELP sent ODOT a letter alleging misappropriation of property and violation of telecommunications law. Oregon then suspended enrollment of PrePass transponders and has since unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a usage agreement with HELP.

"The last three letters in HELP stand for 'electronic license plate,'" Dal Ponte said. "A license plate does not have secret numbers."