IBM's Lawsuit Against Papermaster Over 'Racetrack' Memory?

[MacRumors]

According to Electronista, recent court filings suggest that IBM may be concerned that Mark Papermaster could transmit knowledge about an upcoming IBM memory technology to Apple. Papermaster is the former IBM chip designer that recently accepted a job at Apple which triggered a lawsuit from IBM over a non-compete agreement.

The memory technology called "racetrack" memory was previously detailed in a Times Online article:

Scientists at IBM say they have developed a new type of digital storage which would enable a device such as an MP3 player to store about half a million songs - or 3,500 films - and cost far less to produce.

The new technology is said to requires much less power and could run on a single battery charge for "weeks at a time." The technology, however, was described as "exploratory" just earlier this year and end-user products weren't expected for 10 years.

It's unclear how involved Papermaster was in the development of this technology, and how serious a concern this is for IBM. Papermaster was IBM's vice president of microprocessor technology development prior to his departure.

Article Link: IBM's Lawsuit Against Papermaster Over 'Racetrack' Memory?

[Bevz]

That technology sounds pretty cool ;-) fingers crossed....

[itcheroni]

I'm confused. Will this just be an incredibly large drive? What comes after terabytes?

[arn]

Originally Posted by itcheroni

I'm confused. Will this just be an incredibly large drive? What comes after terabytes?

from http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/...cle3728060.ece

So-called 'racetrack' memory uses the 'spin' of an electron to store data, and can operate far more quickly than regular hard drives.

"The promise of racetrack memory - for example, the ability to carry massive amounts of information in your pocket - could unleash creativity leading to devices and applications that nobody has imagined yet," Stuart Parkin, the IBM fellow who led the research, said.

I'm not sure how big a concern this is for IBM. Based on his job desc, it doesn't seem like he would have been involved in this, but I don't have the court documents.

arn

[sgntscrawn]

Originally Posted by arn

from http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/...cle3728060.ece

Anyone else had a look at the comments on that site? Some guy's talking about teleportation! He's saying that the major stumbling block in teleportation is the memory required. Crazy! The iPorter!

Maybe that's why IBM are so sore. Papermaster may tell Apple about IBM's teleporters lol

[dernhelm]

Originally Posted by arn

from http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/...cle3728060.ece



I'm not sure how big a concern this is for IBM. Based on his job desc, it doesn't seem like he would have been involved in this, but I don't have the court documents.

arn

Well at least this shows that IBM did have some kind of plausible claim going. Apple would of course be interested in using this kind of technology in their products. I still have a hard time believing that Apple is actively pursuing manufacture of its own memory chips. But who knows?

It sounds like IBM is treating this as a trade secret for now, so they want some kind of protection from this technology being leaked to the wider world. Can't blame them, but I do have a hard time believing that Apple would try to steal this IP anyway.

Originally Posted by Carniphage

If IBM want to protect their secrets, wouldn't they be better-off using patent law or copyright law or something like that?

Non-compete clauses seem so.... er... Anti-competetive.

C.

It is a trade secret for now. It can't be patented, or it would no longer be a secret. IBM is concerned about "industrial espionage", not someone using their technology without paying them money.

[atszyman]

Originally Posted by adrian.oconnor

That's probably one of the most insightful comments I've seen here on MR recently. It's definitely the most insightful comment in this thread.

FWIW, IANAL but I am sure IBM will never defeat the PAPERMASTER, unless they hire someone called SCISSORMASTER.

Originally Posted by guzhogi

But then Apple will just hire the ROCKMASTER!

Bah, ROCKMASTER already works for Microsoft and will create a perpetual circular lawsuit.

Of course since the advent of computers and now viable e-book readers, the obsolescence of paper has been foreseen for sometime, so having the PAPERMASTER on your team may not be the benefit it once was.

[Sun Baked]

Originally Posted by arn

I'm not sure how big a concern this is for IBM. Based on his job desc, it doesn't seem like he would have been involved in this, but I don't have the court documents.

arn

We have been using the free docs from justia instead of the usual pay service Pacer.

http://dockets.justia.com/docket/cou...ase_id-334178/

[kaiwai]

Originally Posted by arn

from http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/...cle3728060.ece



I'm not sure how big a concern this is for IBM. Based on his job desc, it doesn't seem like he would have been involved in this, but I don't have the court documents.

arn

That and the fact that it is a 'in 10 years' theoretical technology. Is all on paper, so even if he did have the information, he would still have to have the knowledge to implement it - hence the reason why it won't be available for another 10 years.

[sammich]

So is this 500 000 songs like the songs they advertised on the early MP3/WMA/ATRAC players? Songs encoded at 32kbps? Or the real deal like Apple does it, about 5 megs a song? So where is the 2.5 terabyte iPhone then?

Originally Posted by itcheroni

I'm confused. Will this just be an incredibly large drive? What comes after terabytes?

Large, as in bits and bytes.

Kilo, Mega, Giga, Tera, Peta...wiki

[noverflow]

Originally Posted by sammich

Kilo, Mega, Giga, Tera, Peta...wiki

WOW, I need a wikibyte hard drive!

[indiochano]

Papermaster is the best damn last name i've ever heard...

I AM TEH PAPERMASTER!!

[adrian.oconnor]

Originally Posted by indiochano

Blah blah blah

I AM TEH PAPERMASTER!!

That's probably one of the most insightful comments I've seen here on MR recently. It's definitely the most insightful comment in this thread.

FWIW, IANAL but I am sure IBM will never defeat the PAPERMASTER, unless they hire someone called SCISSORMASTER.

[sgntscrawn]

This sounds really cool. Hopefully this not only means that we can fit more songs - but that we can fit more better quality songs on tomorrow's iPods - because come on, who has 500,000 songs in their iTunes library?

Good old wikipedia tells us of the "yottabyte" here. Imagine that - "The all new iPod. Half a million songs. 5 yottabyte memory. In your pocket." hehe.

And don't doubt this is possible, either - just think how ludicrous an MP3 device with a storage capacity of up to 1,000 songs in a pocketable size would've sounded in 1991 - 10 years before Apple came out with the iPod.

[h.21]

Originally Posted by sammich

So is this 500 000 songs like the songs they advertised on the early MP3/WMA/ATRAC players? Songs encoded at 32kbps? Or the real deal like Apple does it, about 5 megs a song? So where is the 2.5 terabyte iPhone then?



Large, as in bits and bytes.

Kilo, Mega, Giga, Tera, Peta...wiki

That's crazy, dude. How big is a wikibyte?

[RoboCop001]

Originally Posted by h.21

That's crazy, dude. How big is a wikibyte?

The beauty of a wikibite is it's as much storage as you want it to be!

Until someone comes and edits it, and changes the size. So you better keep backing up. Because if they make it a smaller size you'll loose your data OH NO!

[applecow]

Originally Posted by itcheroni

I'm confused. Will this just be an incredibly large drive? What comes after terabytes?

Doesn't sound like it if it will fit inside an iPod. If Papermaster is a genius at chip design, what could be possibly know about storage?

[sammich]

Originally Posted by applecow

Doesn't sound like it if it will fit inside an iPod. If Papermaster is a genius at chip design, what could be possibly know about storage?

Why wouldn't it fit inside an iPod? Just about every technology can be shrunk down to fit in anything. Besides, this technology is akin to flash memory or solid state memory, meaning you can make it fit whatever size or shape you want it, which is why they used the iPod as an example device that would use it.

Originally Posted by Bevz

If true then it sounds like they've managed to create a type of storage that has huge capacity at very low power.... Because they're talking of mp3 players then i assume the storage isn't truly random access and instead is optomised for streaming type uses, also the name "Racetrack" suggests circular one-way linear storage.

This however is pure guesswork!

You should probably have read the article then.

Lets just say you were correct in the assumption of 'linear access'. Couldn't you then say that it was linear in the sense of reading a single bit? The racetrack could be the magnetism surrounding a single bit recording medium.

[pmanija]

This reminds me:

Ipod Invisa

[flottenheimer]

Originally Posted by pmanija

This reminds me:

Ipod Invisa

Thanks. Had been searching for that one, without luck...

[applecow]

Originally Posted by sammich

Why wouldn't it fit inside an iPod? Just about every technology can be shrunk down to fit in anything. Besides, this technology is akin to flash memory or solid state memory, meaning you can make it fit whatever size or shape you want it, which is why they used the iPod as an example device that would use it.

Oops, I misread your initial post for "incredibly large" as a modifier for physical size.

Anyway, I'm not so sure that this technology is all that "unique." What I mean is that it doesn't seem like a sue-able idea in that given the exponential rate of increasing storage size within the last decade, I'm not so certain that within the next 10 years, this is the going to be the absolute best. At the rate of growth we are in for technology, it is very likely that within the next ten years, something similar would be naturally developed as a result of necessity or maybe something even better.

IBM should just give up.

[shortlex]

This form a digital storage + macbook Air + i7 processors + 16 GB DDR3 RAM = macbook air with a good hardware:valueofmoney ratio

[the vj]

In 10 years!!! 10 YEARS!!! now, lets go back to bed...

[Bevz]

Originally Posted by sammich

You should probably have read the article then.

LOL... Yeah, that would have helped!

[mdntcallr]

Originally Posted by applecow

Doesn't sound like it if it will fit inside an iPod. If Papermaster is a genius at chip design, what could be possibly know about storage?

memory and chips go hand in hand. there is memory on a chip itself. now also, storage has to interface with the CPU chip.

now with changes, memory chips, sticks and more are very important to storage today. and if tech shifts, allowing massive storage with little electrical use. imagine the possiblities.

this is a big deal for down the road. 10 years from now, just as holographic storage is a big deal. huge storage, little space, and lower costs.

IBM needs to let this guy earn a living, and this scientist needs to sign paperwork saying this tech will not go to apple. unless properly licensed.