CSIRO Settles With Tech Giants Over WiFi Patent Spat 92
Combat Wombat brings news that the legal battle between the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organisation (CSIRO) and a host of major tech corporations has come to end, with a large settlement going to the CSIRO. The fight was over a patent on wireless LAN technology, which already earned the CSIRO a victory in court over Buffalo Technology and a settlement with Hewlett-Packard. The remaining 13 companies, which include Dell, Intel, Microsoft and Nintendo, have now chosen to settle as well. "[The CSIRO] will use the money won from a Wi-Fi technology patent battle to fund further research. ... It is unclear how much money has flowed to the CSIRO, but experts say the technology would be worth billions of dollars if royalties were paid on an ongoing basis."
Re:Patent Laws (Score:2, Informative)
because research cost money and they need to be paid for it.
[OT] Re:Just because... (Score:3, Informative)
I know you were joking but for the benefit of everyone else who doesn't know this yet: Your location on the Earth has no effect on the direction that water rotates as it drains from your bath/toilet [wikipedia.org].
Re:Buffalo Tech (Score:2, Informative)
I don't quite understand how CSIRO patented a technology that has been around as long as CDMA cellular systems (which also uses OFDM).
Also, to answer your question, no, you don't pay royalties, because you already paid for the individual components. Unless those components came with a EULA, you are free to use them and resell them as you wish.
Re:[OT] Re:Just because... (Score:1, Informative)
my response to that myth is to replace it with an alternative so it sticks in their mind better:
".. but our sundials DO go in the wrong direction"
Re:Lesson To Learn (Score:3, Informative)
@VernonNemitz
The thing is though, they actually did declare the standard as patent encumbered, along with a small bulk licensing fee for the use of the patent, the American companies just ignored it. That's the issue, and this is why they are justfied in filing a lawsuit.
The harmonisation of IP laws (something I personally dont think is in Australia's best interest) goes both ways.
The money they make off the licensing goes into paying development costs and further research, otherwise it means that the australian tax payer is out of pocket for the benefit of the rest of the world (the CSIRO is a research institute supported by the Australian Government, not a private for-profit company).
Thus negating your entire rant.
disclosure: My Uncle works at the CSIRO and I am an Australian Citizen
Re:Lesson To Learn (Score:2, Informative)
except that in this case the CSIRO made it clear they had a patent on the tech when they allowed it's use the IEEE standard for wireless networking products in exchange for royalties. to which all the companies said "yes we'll happily pay you the royalties". a decade later and the main companies are finally paying up.
Re:Lesson To Learn (Score:5, Informative)
What part of this was secret?
CSIRO was after the companies from the word go, they knowingly and deliberately infringed on a development made by CSIRO and CSIRO made not secret of the fact that they held the patent and wanted to be compensated for their development work if it was to be used in a commercial application.
CSIRO tried to deal with the companies, when the chipset manufacturers told CSIRO to sod off. Several companies including Apple, Microsoft (add Sony and we have the holy trinity of evil) and Dell are suing CSIRO in order to renege on paying CSIRO for their patent. The only news here is that CSIRO's patent has been upheld, which is nice because it means the patent system is being used for good (as in the way it was meant to work). What part of this was hidden exactly.
CSIRO [wikipedia.org] is a Commonwealth government (Australia) science and technology development organisation, which means that my taxes paid for this (I'm Australian and have no problem with taxes being used for increasing Australia's knowledge and abilities) but they also hold patents and collect license fee's which go towards reducing the amount of tax dollars CSIRO requires to keep research going.
All rants aside, I agree with you, suing another company by using a secret patent should result in the companies directors being drawn and quartered and the lawyers involved being put against a wall outside the courthouse and shot immediately. But more realistically should cause the immediate and irreversible revocation of the patent in question placing the technology into the public domain.
Re:Just because... (Score:3, Informative)
If the claim is valid and legal. I.E. so long as the company isn't an abusive monopoly, attempting to use the patent to wipe out a competitor or leverage it to get an unfair advantage in the market.
If the organisation or individual can prove beyond doubt that the patent is being knowingly and/or deliberately violated then yes, most certainly yes.
But what is actually happening here frosty, is that companies including Dell, Apple and Microsoft are suing CSIRO (not the other way around) in order to renege on paying CSIRO the patent licensing fees.