Ah ha! The Townshend relationship revealed:
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 3, 1997--To speed
delivery of a draft standard for the new category of 56 Kbps modems,
3Com Corporation (NASDAQ:COMS) has announced that it will continue
its support of the standards process by outlining its policy for
licensing standards-related patents at low cost to other parties who
do the same.
The company has elected to license all patents covering its own
inventions relating to the anticipated 56 Kbps modem standard at a
low, one-time $100,000 fee, or alternatively, with a running royalty
capped at $150,000 per manufacturer.
3Com is the first participant in the 56 Kbps standards process to
disclose the terms for licensing its intellectual property. By
openly licensing its patented technology, 3Com expects to continue
the rapid progress that has already been made on the forthcoming 56
Kbps standard. 3Com expects its agreeable licensing terms will
facilitate this month's upcoming ITU standards meeting, and hopes
that other companies will step forward and disclose reasonable
licensing terms to prevent any delays in finalizing a standard.
3Com also announced it is working with Brent Townshend, the
independent inventor who conceived the original idea for how these
new 56 Kbps modems operate, to make his intellectual property
available to all manufacturers. 3Com believes Townshend's
inventions, which are the subject of pending patent applications, are
basic to any 56 Kbps modem protocol that might be adopted.
Townshend's Innovations Create New Era of Communications
Townshend's inventions relating to 56 Kbps modems are the most
fundamental of many items of intellectual property that will be
embodied in the final standard. 3Com engineers also have contributed
numerous inventions relating to the successful implementation of 56
Kbps technology in the company's U.S. Robotics x2 products.
"Townshend basically came up with the fundamental idea that
generated the new category of 56 Kbps modems," said Joe Dunsmore,
vice president of new business initiatives. "His work was
groundbreaking, and allowed us to build on his technology to create a
fundamentally different approach from the way modem communications
had been handled before."
Today, 3Com holds an exclusive license to Townshend's technology,
including his 56K patents when and if they issue, but 3Com has no
right to sublicense others without Townshend's consent. Townshend
has agreed, however, to allow 3Com to openly sublicense any relevant
patents issued to him upon specified terms that will be made
available to all industry participants. The disclosure of these
terms should open the way toward rapid adoption of a 56K standard.
"We believe a draft standard in September is best for everyone,
and we've actively been working toward that goal," said Dunsmore.
"However, if a standard is not finalized at this meeting, we will be
working with other ITU members to keep standards activities moving
between September and January when the next official ITU meeting is
held. Even if a draft standard is not established in September, we
believe standards work will continue at a rapid pace and will not
delay the overall progress of the industry."
The TIA (Telecommunications Industry Association) meeting
scheduled for October would be a likely forum for continued standards
work. Standardization of 56 Kbps technology has moved very rapidly
-- typically, it takes two or three years to establish new data
communications standards.
The 56 Kbps standards process started about a year ago, in
September 1996, when 3Com (then U.S. Robotics) submitted the first
paper to the ITU relating to a 56 Kbps standard. 3Com also has
guaranteed that it will provide its x2 customers a free upgrade to
the forthcoming ITU standard, so customers can take advantage of
higher speeds now and upgrade to the standard in the future.
3Com has been working on developing implementations of 56 Kbps
modem technology since 1996, after Townshend initially approached the
company in 1995 with his idea for the next generation of modem
communications. Townshend is neither a member of the worldwide
standards body, the ITU (International Telecommunications Union), nor
is he affiliated with any manufacturer of data communications
equipment.
The key terms and conditions proposed for licensing 3Com's
intellectual property, as well as Townshend's, are available to all
interested parties upon written request directed to: 3Com
Corporation, Intellectual Property Group, Legal Department, 8100 N.
McCormick Blvd., Skokie, IL 60076. |
