So, are Caltec suing the other circa 85% of Broadcoms customers as well ?
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Caltech Accuses Apple of Violating its Patented Wi-Fi Technologies
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And I honestly think it's wrong for a university to "own" the rights to a technology. Shouldn't anything that a university creates be a contribution to the world? Or is it really "just business"? I'm probably not up to speed on all of the details here.
WiFi is done in hardware - including the error correction (for which these patents are). And the error correction is part of the standard - otherwise equipment would not interoperate: I could not connect to the CISCO hardware at work. All Apple does is buy off-the-shelf WiFI hardware (BROADCOM chips) and write a user-interface where you insert your WEP password.
Broadcom makes these chips for everyone - not just for Apple; only Apple (being a big customer) demands a special low-power version (of the otherwise standard building block WiFi circuitry). Features like error-correction, are dictated by the 802.11.ac standards documentation. According to wikipedia DVB-S2 (SAT HD-TV broadcast) uses the same error correction.
And you as well. I'm talking about people who are directly involved with the situation.
If Apple isn't anything other than a buyer of goods here, how can they be sued? Am I missing something. I mean I know they can be sued, but I don't see how that holds up to anything if they are simply buying a product, just like every other company. Unless, Apple and Broadcom have a deeper financial agreement than just supplier/buyer. Can McDonalds be sued if the ketchup they are buying is found to be made using trade secrets of another brand?
Unfortunately, your use of "Checkmate" in this context was patented in 2003.
Well, given the way Wifi works on my MacBook Pro (NOT AT ALL), I would crawl under a rock if I were Caltech.
What a joke this is all together.
What a joke this is all together.
A bigger question to ask is why do degree granting universities own patents? These are institutes with the mission of exploration and distribution of knowledge. They get their money off government grants and endowments.
Any IP developed in these institutes should be public domain. Third party groups with relations to institutes like this should hold patents and not the institute itself as it blurs the line between corporate and academia.
Error correction sounds like something wifi needs though I'm not technical enough to know any more than that.
These cases are too complicated just from a coding aspect, let alone adding in all the other legal issues associated with patents. I suspect Caltech will try to bamboozle, and apple will claim they independently developed the process.
In the end I think the patents will get invalidated, fall under frand or result in another licence fee for Apple to recoup from its long suffering customers wallets.
All in a win for stupidity and the pockets of lawyers at the expense of valid R&D from both companies. Shame really
These cases are too complicated just from a coding aspect, let alone adding in all the other legal issues associated with patents. I suspect Caltech will try to bamboozle, and apple will claim they independently developed the process.
In the end I think the patents will get invalidated, fall under frand or result in another licence fee for Apple to recoup from its long suffering customers wallets.
All in a win for stupidity and the pockets of lawyers at the expense of valid R&D from both companies. Shame really
""If we can hit that bull's-eye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards...Checkmate." -
Attachments
http://www.apple.com/shop/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/mac_accessories
Apple is still selling refurbished devices.
Apple is still selling refurbished devices.
WIll the armchair patent experts please step back away from the keyboard. It's embarrassing.
Agreed - I thought it was the supplier who was solely responsible for any royalties that need to be paid for. Amazing how the cowardly Caltech doesn't even have the balls to go after other Wifi chipset vendors let alone the many other OEM's that use BroadCom wireless chipsets in their computers. The long and short of this - it is nothing less than a cash grab and I would be saying the same thing if the Apple wasn't even involved.
Didn't we go through this not long ago over some other patents?
Universities are businesses, not charities. They need operating cash from wherever they can get it.
Patents are a unique revenue source for them, because they bring in money that can be used without being tied to a particular purpose, like with most fees, grants and funding.
In return, the public gets inventions that might not have existed. Hepatitis vaccine, the nicotiine patch, and even Google came from university patents in California.
Often the money is funneled back into more research, so it's a self-funding thing. But even when the US goverment funds research, they're happy with any outcome because the feds get a royalty free license in return for whatever is developed.
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For a couple of reasons, that might not apply in this case. See my post #41.
Do have proof that they have not done so, or will not in the future? Do you also have proof that no one else has already licensed the patents?
In either case, I'd say it is extremely likely that if they prevail over Apple, then they'll go after others as well. As for "cowardly", I don't know many people who would say that about anyone going up against Apple with its resources.
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We will eventually destroy all American technology. Either through patent, environmental, political, or economic nonsense. The system will self-destruct. All our competitors have to do is just sit back and wait.
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The University, like many today, probably has a money management problem.
Never underestimate the irony of the universe.
Greedy lawyers follow the money. But in this case the case is against Broadcom, put Apple included in hope of getting more money, money...
Well, I'll go along with the Patent Troll anyway......
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Yes, and the sides were beveled.
That makes no sense at all. Under that scenario then Apple should be the one getting sued, not both of them.
Oh the irony of this comment coming from you.
This entire thread is a wasteland of misinformation. Look, it's real fun to speculate about why they're doing this, but for the most part you're all wrong. Apple is this biggest player in Broadcom's game, of course they're going to be named. This has nothing to do with apple and all to do with Broadcom. Stop spouting your BS misinformation and talk to an attorney. I hope none of you are taking these comments to the bank, mac rumors forums are really only good for tech information, the armchair dolts with dumb opinions are rampant around here.
