Another stupid lawsuit?

[mjc]

PCI-e: patent infringement?

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/11/09/apple_intel_among_those_facing_renewed_suit_over_p ci_express.html

[jlreich]

Are they going to file suit against all of us currently using PCIe as well? Maybe we will be forced to destroy our PCIe video cards and other PCIe devices. Or perhaps we will be forced to disable the PCIe interface on our motherboards altogether.

:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Ajmukon]

Link to the infringed Patent:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,009,488,.PN.&OS=PN/6,009,488,&RS=PN/6,009,488,

More news:
http://www.theinquirer.net/en/inquirer/news/2005/11/21/intel-amd-nvidia-ati-sony-dell-c-all-get-sued

when was PCIe invented?

[mjc]

Part of the problem is, that Microlinc's patent isn't exactly PCI-express, but a similar process. In a sense they are saying that modern architecture, PCI-e, is a knock off of their work. But, PCI-e is a standard, agreed upon by a large number of tech groups. The time to figure out whether or not the proposed next standard has already been implemented (which, this claim isn't quite clear enough to see if it actually was) is before it is adopted industry wide and raking in billions of $$$...oh, wait, that is the way it should be, if the slimeball lawyers weren't involved in it.

[deddard]

People like this really need to get a grasp of reality.
The likelihood of winning patent rulings like this are slim to none, as it is likely to ge ruled that the technology is now public, and they should have spoken sooner.
PCIe and anything ratified by the IEEE may well be subject to the same rules as othr patents, but expecting industry to cough up money after the event is stupid.

THe current fight with 802.11N is a case in point. The technology has been around and in use for some time (previous .11 standards) but nothing was done.
If a company has a real gripe, they should put their tuppence worth in at the start, not try to hold individual companies to ransom a few years down the line.

[mjc]

If a company has a real gripe, they should put their tuppence worth in at the start, not try to hold individual companies to ransom a few years down the line.

That is one reason why it takes so damn long to get then new standards off paper, ratified and into production...

But, as evidenced in the current wireless mess, the tactics these bloodsuckers are using can be bad for the industry and consumers. Taking things to the WTO and forcing the stoppage of import of products are two new tactics.