Legal threat raised for wireless communication

By Ed Sperling, Editor in Chief -- Electronic News, 5/7/2007

Marvell is seeking to have a 1996 patent for wireless LANs declared invalid, a move that could have broad implications for the semiconductor industry if the patent is upheld.

The counterclaim was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against Campbell, Australia-based Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). The countersuit claims that Marvell’s products comply with the 802.11a and g standards, which are the basis of most wireless data networks now in use in North America.

Marvell claims that CSIRO encouraged the standards to be adopted and now wants to cash in on everyone who abides by them. Such complaints are behind the IEEE’s new policy to have all patents listed up front for new standards. That policy has been accepted by the U.S. Department of Justice, but a version of it has been in place for years. In fact, Marvell claims CSIRO was notified that IEEE policy at the time required it to agree to non-enforcement of 802.11a patents, or anything that might follow based on that technology, or that a statement would be issued about reasonable licensing terms.

At stake, however, is much more than just the dispute between Marvell and CSIRO. All of the major multimedia over wireless networks protocols in use in the United States stem from the 802.11 standard. That standard is the basis of wireless communications within homes and within offices, and affects everything from laptops that receive signals from a wireless router to sending pictures, IP TV and home media servers.

Marvell is seeking first to have the patent declared invalid. Barring that, the company wants to obtain a licensing agreement that will indemnify its customers.