Earlier, Buffalo Inc. and Buffalo Technology, makers of external hard drives, monitors and other computer peripherals were sued by Australian science agency CSIRO who alleged that Buffalo’s Wi-Fi Products infringed on their U.S. Patent 5,487,069. This led to the district court issuing an injunction, ordering Buffalo to stop selling its allegedly infringing Wi-Fi products.
In September though, the Federal Circuit questioned the validity of CSIRO’s patent and suspended the injunction.
Buffalo is confident that through a trial court that will determine the validity of CSIRO’s patent, they will be exonerated.
AUSTIN, TX – December 3, 2008 – Buffalo Technology, a global leader in the design, development and manufacturing of wired and wireless networking, storage and memory solutions today announced that a federal judge has stayed the permanent injunction in the ongoing U.S. patent litigation (Commonwealth Scientific Research and Industrial Organization v. Buffalo Technology USA, Inc. and Buffalo, Inc.) with respect to the offer to sell, use, import or manufacture Buffalo’s IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g standard compliant products.
The Australian science agency CSIRO sued Buffalo Inc. and its US affiliate Buffalo Technology (USA) Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, alleging that Buffalo’s products infringed its U.S. Patent 5,487,069, which concerns Wi-Fi technology relating to the transmission and modulation of wireless signals. After the district court held that Buffalo’s products infringed certain claims of the patent and that those claims were valid, the district court ordered Buffalo to stop selling its allegedly infringing products in the U.S. Buffalo appealed that order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
On September 19, 2008, the Federal Circuit raised the issue of whether CSIRO’s patent is valid and remanded the case back to the district court. The order staying the permanent injunction confirms that Buffalo is free to sell IEEE 802.11a, 802.11g and 802.11n compliant products in the United States.
Although Buffalo believes that the appellate court implicitly vacated the injunction when it questioned the validity of CSIRO’s patent, Buffalo took the additional step of asking the trial court to stay the injunction to the extent it was still in force. Buffalo expects that the trial court will, in the near future, schedule a trial on whether CSIRO’s asserted patent claims are invalid and is confident that a jury will vindicate its position.
Any questions concerning the stay of the injunction should be directed to Richard D. Kelly, counsel for Buffalo and senior partner with Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, P.C.
About Buffalo Technology
Buffalo Technology (USA), Inc., based in Austin, Texas, is a leading global provider of award-winning networking, storage, multimedia and memory solutions for the home and small business environments as well as for system builders and integrators. With almost three decades of networking and computer peripheral experience, Buffalo has proven its commitment to delivering innovative, best-of-breed solutions that have put the company at the forefront of infrastructure technology. For more information about Buffalo Technology and its products, please visit www.buffalotech.com.
Excellent I love my Buffalo router and can’t wait for them to start selling again here in the US.
I really have never heard anything bad about this company so I am surprised to hear about this issue but am glad that they can sell their products again. I hear they are really great and look forward to purchasing from them.
Buffalo is only one of many manufacturers who all dismissed CSIRO’s offer in 2005 to license its 1996-patented 802.11 wireless technology on inexpensive and non-exclusive terms.
On 31 March 2009 HP settled out of court with CSIRO (the Commonwealth Scientific, Industrial and Research Organisation) for an undisclosed sum.
As of 2 April 2009, CSIRO is continuing to battle global technology companies in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, for royalties over its patented wireless technology, such as Microsoft, Intel, Dell, Netgear, Toshiba, 3Com, Nintendo, Marvell and Buffalo.
HP’s lawyers have obviously concluded that it seems likely that CSIRO will win every case, hence the decision to settle early.
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