14 DAY TRIAL // With all the suing that's been going on in the mobile industry lately, one can but wonder, will this never end? Apparently not, as Sony Ericsson, Apple, Dell and five other technology companies have been dragged into court over Bluetooth patents.
It all started with the Washington Research Foundation, (which was said to be acting on behalf of the University of Washington) suing mobile phone manufacturers Nokia, Samsung and Panasonic, claiming that they had infringed upon a series of patents for Bluetooth wireless technology.
The lawsuit came as a major surprise to all companies involved as well as the Bluetooth Special Interest Grup that had previously investigated to make sure that the member companies could produce Bluetooth products without infringing on any patents.
According to Bloomberg the list of companies that are being sued has grown significantly and now includes Logitech, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba and Plantronics, so pretty much every big name that has something to do with mobile phones and accessories. Considering this, if the Washington Research Foundation wins, the whole wireless industry would risk going down.
Apparently, some of the listed companies' products include chips that are made by British company CSR, and according to WRF, the companies do not have a proper license for the use of the chips. The foundation is asking for money damages and a court order barring the sale of the products that are using the patented technology. Products with a chips based on Broadcom technology will however not be touched.