FARGO (AP) - Alien Technology Corp. has dropped a federal lawsuit in Fargo in which it asked a judge to rule that it did not infringe on a rival's patents.

Alien's Fargo plant makes so-called "smart chips," which are tiny electronic chips embedded with radio transmitters. Its lawsuit, filed earlier this year, was in response to a lawsuit filed by rival Avery Dennison Corp., alleging patent infringement. Alien's motion to dismiss Avery's lawsuit is still pending.

Avery spokesman Jeffrey Pina has declined comment, and a call seeking comment from Alien was not returned.

Alien is based in Morgan Hill, Calif. It opened a plant in the research and technology park at North Dakota State University in 2004.