It was interesting reading that the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization’s [CSIRO] holds a 1996 patent on wi-fi technology which includes the 802.11 a/g standards commonly used by most wi-fi manufactures. Though I am not privy to the inside dealings of the case, one thing that does seem odd is why it took CSIRO so long to discover that their patent was being violated?

It seems also odd that CSIRO would wait until now since the original 802.11 standards were first ratified in 1999. To me it would of been advantageous for CSIRO to have filed their patent claims than, and not after a estimated 300 million wi-fi units have already been sold worldwide. Which then gives rise to another problem.

Since wi-fi also covers laptops, smartphones and gaming consoles, this patent claim could have far reaching affects for all of us and the technology industry as a whole. When these wi-fi ratifications were made, didn’t anyone check to see if they were violating a patent or was the reasoning who cares? We will make so much money it is worth the risk of patent infringement.

It is going to be interesting to see how the US Supreme Court views these claims in light of their recent rulings.

Comments welcome.

Tags: wi-fi, patent, claim