CORNING, NY, July 9 -- Corning Incorporated has initiated an action in Federal District Court against Highwave Optical Technologies of Lannion, France, for patent infringement. The complaint identifies Highwave as infringing a Corning patent involved in the design and manufacture of photonic optical fiber. "Corning invests enormous resources in product and technology research and development," said Frank Little, general manager and division vice president, Corning Optical Transport Products. "Today's action is part of an ongoing effort to enforce our intellectual property rights. When we find unauthorized use of our technology, we will move accordingly to protect our shareholders' investment. We will not let others misappropriate our intellectual property."