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Apple, Others Hit With Lawsuit On Ethernet Patents

Posted by kdawson on from the innovation-prevention dept.

bth nods an AppleInsider story on a patent troll who has gotten hold of fundamental Ethernet patents and is wielding them broadly. Three guesses which US Appeals Court the lawsuit was filed in. "A Texas company has targeted a number of technology companies, including Apple, in a new lawsuit regarding a handful of computer networking patents issued in the 1990s. ... 3Com Corporation was granted four patents from 1994 to 1998 pertaining to network adapters. Two deal with the automatic initiation of data transmission, and one addresses 'host indication optimization.' ... The company's Web site states that U.S. Ethernet Innovations was founded 'to continue 3Com Corporation's successful licensing program related to a portfolio of foundational patents in Ethernet technology.' A press release from the company states that it is the 'owner of the fundamental Ethernet technology developed and sold by 3Com Corporation in the 1990s,' suggesting it purchased the patents. ... In addition to Apple, the lawsuit names Acer, ASUS, Dell, Fujitsu, Gateway, Hewlett Packard, Sony, and Toshiba as defendants."

24 of 304 comments (clear)

  1. New Networking Technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Token ring, here we come

    1. Re:New Networking Technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, we'll just create a successor to token ring. I think we should call it Tolkien ring and it should support 10,000,000,000 [hob]bits per second.

    2. Re:New Networking Technology by Arancaytar · · Score: 5, Funny

      But staying connected for too long turns you into a wraith!

      (Oh wait, that's just like the internet.)

    3. Re:New Networking Technology by ArsenneLupin · · Score: 2, Funny
      Yeah, so let's all go scavenging the scrap yards for old Token ring cards!

      Reality check: Token ring would only be successful if swine flew.

    4. Re:New Networking Technology by Whalou · · Score: 5, Funny

      Once the Tolkien ring is in place, we should be able to finally get rid of trolls.

      --
      English is not this .sig mother tongue...
    5. Re:New Networking Technology by scharkalvin · · Score: 3, Funny

      Token rings have this big problem. I remember hooking up a token ring network
      once where I worked. Well the cable came disconnected and the token fell out
      and rolled behind a desk and was never found! We had to wait 2 weeks for a
      replacement to show up. What a bummer!

    6. Re:New Networking Technology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Damn it, JANET!

  2. hardly relevant now... by Tumbleweed · · Score: 5, Funny

    Everyone uses the _internet_, now. Who cares about ethernet?!

    1. Re:hardly relevant now... by davester666 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Man, I hope there isn't a submarine patent on information flowing through a series of tubes...

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    2. Re:hardly relevant now... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Thats exactly what I told all my friends since the network cords i purchased only a year ago became clogged with residual "Ethernet packages" and so had to be discarded immediately before they started to rot and attract "data worms". I have since done away with Ethernet all together and am finding I can get alot more done with only Internet (much faster, no data worms).

    3. Re:hardly relevant now... by broken_chaos · · Score: 4, Funny

      Was that a stealth pun?

    4. Re:hardly relevant now... by davester666 · · Score: 5, Funny

      I was hoping it would fly under the radar.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    5. Re:hardly relevant now... by HNS-I · · Score: 2, Funny

      And then Mithrandir told you could just piggyback on the eagle to Rivendel, that must have really set you off.

    6. Re:hardly relevant now... by Abstrackt · · Score: 2, Funny

      Everyone uses the _internet_, now. Who cares about ethernet?!

      Anyone trying to catch the Ether Bunny cares!

      --
      They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
  3. Damn! by willoughby · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now I suppose it's back to those pain-in-the-ass coaxial cables.

    1. Re:Damn! by Techman83 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Sweet, the Terminator sitting on my Keyring may see action once again!

      --
      # cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i cat
      Damn, my RAM is full of cats. MEOW!!
    2. Re:Damn! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      If coaxial cables are a pain in the ass, you're putting them in the wrong place...

    3. Re:Damn! by ArsenneLupin · · Score: 4, Funny

      pain-in-the-ass coaxial cables.

      Those cables weren't that thick...

    4. Re:Damn! by BooRolla · · Score: 2, Funny

      pain-in-the-ass coaxial cables.

      Those cables weren't that thick...

      I'm not sure I want to know what kind of networks you built

  4. Re:Trial by jury... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    A jury in East Texas will be composed of at least 10 people who believe that the Earth is 6,000 years old and that Jesus rode to work on a brontosaurus.

    The other two will disagree, but they'd sooner strip naked and dance a jig in the town square than open their mouths to disagree.

    Be very afraid.

  5. Trial by Luddite? by ChipMonk · · Score: 4, Funny

    How difficult will it be to find a judge and jury whose sole access to the Internet is through dial-up, and whose workplace involves no computer networking whatsoever?

  6. Darl McBride's new job? by aysa · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe he was not terminated, but instead became himself an Ethernet terminator.

  7. Re:Trial by jury... by master5o1 · · Score: 3, Funny

    That settles it then. We'll just have to invite the entire jury for naked dance in town some time.

    --
    signature is pants
  8. Re:Trial by jury... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    How many Apple fans are out there these days?

    All Apple fans are out there. Way out.