Eye-Fi Slams SDA's Wireless LAN Specification
Eye-Fi, a company that holds patents related to wireless communications among digital imaging devices, claims that the SD Association's (SDA) recently announced Wireless LAN Specification has ignored Eye-Fi's intellectual property assets.
Eye-Fi has invested in the creation of technology that lets people wirelessly transfer photos and videos directly from their camera and mobile devices.
Last week, the SD Association (SDA) announced that a draft Wireless LAN specification had been adopted as a new standard. However, according Eye-Fi 's CEo Yuval Koren, SDA did not follow the typical proecdure prior to offering the new standard for licensing.
"This was a flat out misrepresentation. As a matter of fact, under the SDA's own rules, this was not possible. SDA members - and we are one - are allowed 60 days in which to respond with claims to patented intellectual property and plans around licensing that IP to the SDA. Should essential IP be presented during this process, and not offered for license, the SDA should revise the specification and begin the review cycle again. After this process, the SDA Executive Members have to vote on adopting the specification," Koren said. "Not only has the membership?s intellectual property disclosure window not closed, the Executive Members have also yet to vote on its adoption," he added.
Eye-Fi protested the action and the SDA?s executive director replied "the SD Association has often made announcements during the IP Review Period because once this phase of the process has been achieved the only thing that could possibly change is the licensing and not the technical details."
This week, still in advance of the SDA-provided deadline, Eye-Fi disclosed its patented intellectual property to the SDA, detailing multiple Eye-Fi patents essential to the current SDA draft specification.
"There is a process for the establishment of this kind of specification, and that process wasn?t respected," Koren added. "We respect the process as established by the SDA and we call upon the SDA to do the same."
Last week, the SD Association (SDA) announced that a draft Wireless LAN specification had been adopted as a new standard. However, according Eye-Fi 's CEo Yuval Koren, SDA did not follow the typical proecdure prior to offering the new standard for licensing.
"This was a flat out misrepresentation. As a matter of fact, under the SDA's own rules, this was not possible. SDA members - and we are one - are allowed 60 days in which to respond with claims to patented intellectual property and plans around licensing that IP to the SDA. Should essential IP be presented during this process, and not offered for license, the SDA should revise the specification and begin the review cycle again. After this process, the SDA Executive Members have to vote on adopting the specification," Koren said. "Not only has the membership?s intellectual property disclosure window not closed, the Executive Members have also yet to vote on its adoption," he added.
Eye-Fi protested the action and the SDA?s executive director replied "the SD Association has often made announcements during the IP Review Period because once this phase of the process has been achieved the only thing that could possibly change is the licensing and not the technical details."
This week, still in advance of the SDA-provided deadline, Eye-Fi disclosed its patented intellectual property to the SDA, detailing multiple Eye-Fi patents essential to the current SDA draft specification.
"There is a process for the establishment of this kind of specification, and that process wasn?t respected," Koren added. "We respect the process as established by the SDA and we call upon the SDA to do the same."
