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CSIRO wins landmark wi-fi settlement
By News Online's Nic MacBean
Posted 32 minutes ago
The CSIRO has won what could be a landmark settlement from Hewlett Packard over the use of patented wireless technology.
The settlement ended HP's involvement in a four-year lawsuit brought by the CSIRO on a group of technology companies, in which the organisation was seeking royalties for wi-fi technology that is used extensively on laptops and computers worldwide.
CSIRO spokesman Huw Morgan declined to elaborate on the details of the settlement, saying: "CSIRO has reached a settlement with HP in relation to wireless technology."
Since the Australian science agency received a patent for its IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g Wi-Fi products in January 1996, the technology has been adopted as an industry standard by most notebooks and desktop computers around the world.
CSIRO started legal action against a group of technology companies in 2005, arguing that its patent was being infringed upon and it should "receive royalties from every producer of WLAN products worldwide."
If CSIRO is successful in being granted royalty rights for the technology, billions of dollars could be headed its way because of the widespread use of the wireless standard.
In 2007 CSIRO had some success when a Texas District Court imposed a permanent injunction on Buffalo Technologies importing, manufacturing, selling or using the wireless technology.
The decision was appealed last year and the injunction has been lifted while the patent issue is clarified.
Mr Luw said legal action was continuing against 13 companies: Intel, Dell, Toshiba, Asus, Netgear, D-Link, Belkin, SMC, Accton, 3-Com, Buffalo, Microsoft and Nintendo.
CSIRO wins landmark wi-fi settlement - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)