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June 27, 2007
More patent confusion
This story from Information Week -- Wi-Fi Takes Shape As The Next Patent Battleground
A little-noticed Federal court decision issuing an injunction against wireless LAN equipment vendor Buffalo Technology in its patent fight with an Australian science agency could have broad implications for the Wi-Fi industry.
Judge Leonard Davis of the U.S. Eastern District Court of Texas found on June 15 that Buffalo violates the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization's 1996 patent underlying 802.11a/g technology--the core of all corporate wireless LANs and public Wi-Fi networks. Davis issued an injunction blocking Buffalo, a Japanese manufacturer with a subsidiary in Austin, Texas, from selling WLAN products until it has a license agreement with CSIRO.
Buffalo is likely to appeal the ruling and ask the court for a stay of the injunction. But if the ruling stands, Davis' decision could force makers of Wi-Fi-based products--from laptops to smartphones to semiconductors to game consoles--to pay hefty licensing fees to CSIRO, an Australian federal agency akin to the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Recognizing the CSIRO patent as a threat, a group of major tech companies that includes Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Intel filed lawsuits in May 2005 to have the CSIRO patent invalidated. CSIRO countersued. In all, CSIRO has three other cases challenging Wi-Fi use by Belkin, Dell, D-Link, Fujitsu, HP, Intel, Microsoft, Netgear, 3Com, Toshiba, and others. Notably absent is Cisco Systems, which pays royalties to CSIRO from its acquisition in 2001 of Radiata, a company formed by CSIRO.
MP3, VoIP and now Wi-Fi? Does anyone really know who owns these fundamental patents?
Posted by Ken Jarboe at June 27, 2007 9:20 AM
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