[LINK] CSIRO defeats HP in US court over Wi-Fi royalties

[Eric Scheid]

> CSIRO defeats HP in US court over Wi-Fi royalties
> Settlement moves CSIRO closer to collecting 802.11 royalties

Good news I guess, but a related question comes to mind: if the presumption
of Crown Copyright was reversed (cue bushfires angst), would that undermine
this style of opportunity?

(Yes, I know this is about patents and not copyrights. Feel free to
s/specifics/abstractions/plz, and btw I have no idea if CSIRO itself is a
body affected by Crown Copyright so feel free to abstract again)

> Kathryn Edwards 01/04/2009 13:56:00
> http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/297719/csiro_sticks_it_to_em
> 
> Computer manufacturer Hewlett-Packard has effectively ended a four-year-old
> court case against Australian scientific agency the CSIRO, which claimed its
> wireless computer technology is worth billions of dollars in royalties.
> 
> HP has agreed to a confidential settlement which could pave the way for other
> companies to follow suit.
> 
> ³We have reached a settlement with Hewlett-Packard and we have no further
> comment due to confidentiality and ongoing litigation,² CSIRO spokesperson Huw
> Morgan said.
> 
> In 2005, the agency sued HP, along with other technology companies, claiming
> the companies had infringed a US patent held by the CSIRO over its IEEE
> 802.11a and 802.11g Wi-Fi products, a standard that is used by almost every
> notebook and desktop wireless LAN device.
> 
> The CSIRO said at the time it had offered to license its technology on
> ³reasonable and non-discriminatory² terms but was dismissed by the industry.
> 
> In a move that rattled the nerves of those throughout the networking industry,
> the court imposed a permanent injunction against Buffalo Technology that
> stopped it from manufacturing, importing, selling or using Wi-Fi products in
> June 2007.
> 
> An appeal was lodged at the US Court of Appeals in Washington DC which
> resulted in the injunction being temporarily lifted from the Japanese vendor
> and its US affiliate in December last year, while the patent issue is
> resolved.
> 
> However, the CSIRO is continuing to battle global technology companies in the
> US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, for royalties over its
> patented wireless technology, such as Microsoft, Intel, Dell, Netgear,
> Toshiba, 3Com, Nintendo, Marvell and Buffalo.
> 
> US patent 5487069 was authorised in January 1996 and covers a wireless LAN,
> including hubs and peer-to-peer networks.

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