wonk - or, if I'm not being too familiar, wireless -
Hell, we don't even know what we're dealing with here. I haven't found one person, not one, who claims the ability to differentiate successfully between WOFDM and VOFDM - in terms of which is likely to offer the best commercial alternative.
Your point on the IPR issue is well taken - but again, there is no clear indication that a win by either side would be critical to ultimate commercial success. Here, I refer you to Philips' and Telia's de facto recognition of Wi-LAN's IPRs. What if a consortium opposed to Cisco agrees to license the WOFDM technology? Of what value then is ruinous litigation?
The Qualcomm/Cisco model seems to be the new standard - lock up the patents, and let the royalties flow. The following is a cut from one of the many messages I've received on the subject - some censoring to hide identity.
___________________________________________________________
Cisco by the way
>tries to patent EVERYTHING. I worked along with x
>is(sic) challenging and defeating a CISCO patent after an
>Engineer of mine found basically the same circuitry in
>a IEEE text book that was issued 3 years before the
>patent application.
As for W-OFDM my only concern is that CISCO WILL find
a way around it rather than buy out Wi-LAN. They
can be bxxxxxxx, (believe me I go up against them
often)at IEEE, TIA/EIA standards committees etc.
__________________________________________________________
Litigation is a dangerous game; a skillfully presented case will have Cisco defending its practices as well as its IPRs.
I have seen nothing that suggests Wi-LAN's patents are in doubt. The question is, does Cisco have patents that invalidate Wi-LAN's claims? The subtext in such a case would be, is Cisco using the patent process improperly to gain an unfair advantage?
The quoted language you excerpted does sound vague. I wonder how clear and explicit the Cisco/Clarity language is? More to the point, will vague language invalidate Wi-LAN's claim?
You make the point that this matter won't be solved in the public forum. None of us thought it would.
But as investors, we have to make judgements and inferences based on incomplete information.
I think it's safe to say that most of us here, while aware of the dangers, are also aware of the nature of the adversaries: one dominant and ruthless, the other young and innovative.
" Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."
The Cisco refrain. I think many tire of it.
Best wishes,
Jim
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