Patent Law

Klingon Attack

By Gary Odom and Jordan Kuhn

WARF, the Klingon who once served on the Starship Enterprise, has resurfaced on earth as a patent troll, albeit oversized, as patent trolls are normally dwarfish. Whatever. WARF is bashing Intel for CPU patent infringement after negotiations understandably failed: Intel does not speak Klingon.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) asserted 5,781,752 in the Western District of Wisconsin, after repeated attempts at licensing since 2001. Klingons are not usually so patient.

Michael Falk, WARF general counsel, lamented: "We are disappointed with Intel's lack of response in resolving this matter, and while we were not anxious to use the courts to enforce our patent rights, we have no other recourse given our duty to protect the intellectual property of our inventors and the university."

WARF pointed out that Intel's primitive earthling CoreDuo microarchitecture is just like what '752 claims. "Even a Romulan would understand it," growled WARF.

IBM, which does speak Klingon, reached a licensing settlement with WARF in 2005.

Meanwhile Intel, genetically Ferengi, but often acting like a Klingon without actually being able to speak the language, is doing its own Klingon patent bash against competitor AMD. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Full post as published by The Patent Prospector on February 08, 2008 (boomark / email).