Oh, Why Wi-fi?
November 2006
Wi−Fi standards face patent threat.
A federal judge in Tyler,
TX, ruled last week that an Australian government agency holds the rights to patents on the underlying technology used in two Wi−Fi standards and a third proposed standard. The decision −− if it survives what many assume will be a lengthy appeals process −− could have a wide−ranging impact on wireless equipment makers and consumer electronics manufacturers. Judge Leonard Davis ruled that a patent granted in 1996 to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia's national science agency, is valid. The court also ruled that Buffalo Technology, a small maker of Wi−Fi routing gear, had violated this patent. The ruling is certainly a blow for Austin, TX−based Buffalo Technology, but the decision could have a huge impact on the entire Wi−Fi industry. "One reason that Wi−Fi has proliferated as it has is because it's reached a point where it's incredibly cheap, so it's easy to just stick a Wi−Fi chip in a consumer electronics device," said Stan Schatt, a vice president at ABI Research. "But if the cost of the technology goes up to pay for the license, even a little bit, it could throw off the economics."
Source:http://news.com.com/Wi−Fi+standards+face+patent+threat/
2100−7351_3−6137372.html?tag=nefd.lede
Wi−Fi standards face patent threat.
A federal judge in Tyler,
TX, ruled last week that an Australian government agency holds the rights to patents on the underlying technology used in two Wi−Fi standards and a third proposed standard. The decision −− if it survives what many assume will be a lengthy appeals process −− could have a wide−ranging impact on wireless equipment makers and consumer electronics manufacturers. Judge Leonard Davis ruled that a patent granted in 1996 to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia's national science agency, is valid. The court also ruled that Buffalo Technology, a small maker of Wi−Fi routing gear, had violated this patent. The ruling is certainly a blow for Austin, TX−based Buffalo Technology, but the decision could have a huge impact on the entire Wi−Fi industry. "One reason that Wi−Fi has proliferated as it has is because it's reached a point where it's incredibly cheap, so it's easy to just stick a Wi−Fi chip in a consumer electronics device," said Stan Schatt, a vice president at ABI Research. "But if the cost of the technology goes up to pay for the license, even a little bit, it could throw off the economics."
Source:http://news.com.com/Wi−Fi+standards+face+patent+threat/
2100−7351_3−6137372.html?tag=nefd.lede
posted by arkietechs at 6:46 AM
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