After winning million in their fight with big name Companies like Intel, Microsoft and IBM the Australian CSIRO has now gone after several PC Companies including, Apple, Sony, Lenovo and Acer in an effort to bolster returns from their inventions.
The CSIRO who invented fast wireless (Wi Fi) packet switching believe that the likes of Apple, Sony and Acer have for years have been using Wi-Fi technology said to be covered by CSIRO’s patents.
Apple who was forced to licence the iPhone name from Cisco after a threat of legal action, is currently fighting another battle with Nokia over the “illegal” use of their GSM technology is set to be targeted by the CSIRO.
The US Company who go after anyone who infringes on their design, name or technology, appear to have no qualms about stealing someone else’s technology which is what some of the current court actions against the Company are about.
During a recent radio interview CSIRO said that they are set to put proceeds of its Wi Fi patent victory into a research fund as its sets its sights on further enforcing its patent rights with the makers of laptops and wireless-enabled smartphones.
According to the CSIRO s annual report, the agency has reaped $200m from their battle with 14 of the world’s biggest technology companies.
The struggle centred on a 15-year-old CSIRO patent related to the widely used 802.11 wireless network standard.
CEO Megan Clark told an ABC Radio National interviewer talks began with Sony, Lenovo and Acer in September. But she provided no details of how valuable the royalties might be or whether the talks are going smoothly.
Clark said more of the money coming to the CSIRO, which outside sources have estimated at possibly a billion dollars, will be ploughed into basic radio research. Already it has agreed to pump $150 million from US licensing into the Science and Industry Endowment Fund, with early funds going to setting up a chair in wireless communications and Macquarie University; wireless LAN scholarships and wireless broadband research.
Clark also mentioned the possibility of research for a space communications network. Less specifically, Clark says she hopes the research will lead “to the next big one” that could pour still more royalties into CSIRO coffers.
