Forget RFID in humans, the real battle is over animal implantation. The fight over pet “tags” has been raging in the courts for nine months now. And when the dust settles, the real winners - or losers - may be pet owners.

At the heart of the matter is simple standardization. An organization has sprung up urging the major manufacturers of the competing chips to come to some kind of agreement. One pet food manufacturer has even agreed to donate 30,000 readers that can read the two standards. But so far, the only action has been in the courts.

The first shot was fired by AVID Identification Systems, Inc., a California-based manufacturer and patent-holder of 125 kHz chips, in one of two suits it filed last May. The first, in California, was against Medical Management International (MMI), doing business as Banfield, The Pet Hospital, claiming the company was misleading its customers by inserting an ISO compliant 134.2 kHz tracking chip in their pets when most readers would only handle 125 kHz chips, those manufactured by AVID (American Veterinary Identification Devices). In November, the California court told Banfield to quit selling the 134.2 kHz chips unless accompanied by, in essence a warning label, which says that most animal shelters are equipped with scanners that can’t read the 134.2 kHz chips.