CSIRO Beats Raging Bull
CSIRO Beats Raging Bull
Month Date, 2006: It’s far from over but the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) has won a significant victory defending the legitimacy of its Wireless Local Area Network patent, granted in 1996.
The summary judgement handed down by US Federal Court of the Eastern District of Texas, Judge Davis favours an outcome recognising the patent’s validity and acknowledges Buffalo Technology’s infringement. The CSIRO had initiated the test case in February 2006 after the Japanese owned company, unilaterally terminated negotiations with CSIRO in relation to a license.
CSIRO Chief Executive Geoff Garrett said "this is an important win because the Judge has supported CSIRO's position comprehensively. We are obviously very pleased. However, it is only a brick in the wall - CSIRO still has a long way to go."
Pursuant to the February 2006 launch of the test against Buffalo, Microsoft, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Netgear and Apple initiated legal action in the US to prevent CSIRO from obtaining reasonable royalties for their use of the patented technology. Apple has since pulled out of the suit.
Dr Garrett said “As part of our business we create high quality intellectual property, and we are prepared to defend it. We actively encourage the utilization of the results of research in industry and communities, both nationally and globally, and any royalty income will be reinvested in further research.”
In an earlier statement, Dr Garret said, CSIRO’s patented system made it possible to increase the speed of WLAN by a factor of five.
He also emphasises CSIRO’s has a history in advanced wireless systems, going back to the Apollo landing in 1969.
“CSIRO helped bring the television pictures of the Apollo 11 Moon landing to a worldwide TV audience of 600 million people. In 1970, we helped Apollo Astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise get home on Apollo 13 by making our Parkes radio telescope available to communicate with the stricken spacecraft.”