Politics

Nomadix's Hotspot Patent, Revisited

It can be difficult to understand the meaning and import of any individual patent, as this discussion of Nomadix's patent shows.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Managing Editor [March 9, 2004]

A little over a month ago, Nomadix announced that it had obtained a patent related to the creation of payment gateways at hotspots (see A Broad Patent for Hotspots).

Perhaps the most intelligent commentary came from Jim Thompson, former CTO of Wayport, who wrote in this article that many users and manufacturers may infringe on the patent, but it's difficult to say who does and who does not.

Thompson's analysis shows that the patent is long, and would be infringed only if manufacturers use all (or perhaps most) of its elements. For example, just as a patent on a one-click payment hyperlink does not also patent all hyperlinks, so too this patent on a specific method of transparent access does not cover all methods of accessing and paying for the wireless Internet.

One manufacturer told us they do not infringe. Kwang-Tat Ang, CEO of Singapore-based ANTLabs, wrote to us with a strongly worded statement correcting our previous article, which said his company might violate the patent.

Ang wrote, "After consulting our U.S. attorneys, who have looked into the matter, we are able to categorically confirm that—contrary to the statement in the article that ANTlabs 'may find itself in difficulty'—ANTlabs' technology does not infringe upon Nomadix's patents mentioned in your article. We will be grateful if you would do the necessary to set the record straight and clarify the situation with your readers."

Other key players are still examining the patent and were unavailable for comment. A Cisco spokesperson said they could not comment yet, and other key companies were unable to comment at all.

Companies in the entire Internet industry are worried, however, that patents may be harming rather than helping business. The article They Claim The Workings of The Web on internetnews.com, for example, describes a variety of ways that patents can be misused.

Those actually building Wi-Fi networks hope that, in an industry that nobody dominates but in which many companies have produced valuable technology, all of the manufacturers work together, licensing any intellectual property on reasonable terms and rates. STSN's CEO David Garrison provided the following comment:

"STSN, as a driving force in the deployment of secure public Wi-Fi networks, is eager to see further expansion of this market and recognizes that the development and availability of innovative technologies are needed to drive ubiquity. However, without industry support and protection for private ownership of intellectual property, companies like STSN won't be able to continue the investment to develop new technologies. To keep this industry vital, all players must make a commitment to fairness and responsibility in licensing the technology of others."

—End