The RFID Weblog: RFID Patent Wars are Pending

Filed in archive Implementation by Anita Campbell on September 6, 2006

The bad news is that Wal-Mart, Gillette, Michelin, Home Depot, Target and Pfizer are all being sued for RFID patent infringement.

The good news is that the lawsuit signals how far we have come with RFID. You know a technology is starting to gain wider acceptance, when the lawsuits start. People do not file lawsuits unless there is something worth fighting over.

Of course some will take this lawsuit as yet another sign that the U.S. Patent office is out of control, issuing overly broad patents right and left like the easter bunny handing out chocolate eggs.

Tech companies have complained about patent trolls in recent years. Patent troll is a term referring to a company that secures patents for the main purpose of filing lawsuits. With the cost of defending a patent lawsuit averaging $2 million, a lot of companies faced with a patent infringement suit just cave in -- and settle. In turn that just encourages more patent trolls. It has become quite the cottage industry.

I do not know if that is the situation here, but the descriptions of the patent in question certainly sound very broad.

Related Entries:

Clarifying the Patent Situation - 20 August 2004
RFID in the Supply Chain - Sold Out! - 16 November 2004
The RFID Patent Imbroglio - 15 August 2005
Centredoc: RFID Patent Monitoring Service - 01 September 2005
Norwegian ePassports Delay Requested - 28 September 2005
Update on the RFID Patent Consortium - 21 December 2005
RFID is Like The Mobile Phone - 05 January 2006
Patent pooling to further the cause of RFID technology - 29 November 2007

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Response from: Chris Kapsambelis (09/07/06 11:34am)

Since the 1940s RFID has been used to keep track of aircraft. Around 1965 General Electric installed a pilot system to keep track of railroad cars on the Pennsylvania Railroad. Around 1975 General Electric installed an RFID system to keep track of busses in the Los Angeles area transit system.
How anybody can be granted a patent on the use of RFID for inventory control in 2005 boggles the mind. The U.S. Patent office is a useless institution.

Response from: Anita Campbell (09/09/06 3:04pm)

Hi Chris,

Yes, it's astonishing that the USPTO could issue a patent on the use of RFID for inventory control in this day and age. I guess they don't keep up with current events over there.

The U.S. patent system has been a key driver behind the United States' technological innovation leadership. But that system is threatened when the safeguards start to break down and the whole structure gets hijacked.

- Anita