3Com, inventor state their terms

Electronic News, Sept 8, 1997 by Will Wade

"We would like to know more about this work," agreed Glen Griffith, director of standards development for Rockwell Semiconductor Systems. "But it doesn't appear as if Mr. Townshend or 3Com is voluntarily putting it on the table."

Mr. Griffith said that Rockwell had not been able to fully evaluate Mr. Townshend's work, but he was not convinced it was a critical element of high-speed modem communications. "It is our belief that if and when a patent is issued, it will be so narrow that it probably won't cover our standard." He added that there may be issues of prior art, meaning some of Mr. Townshend's patent filings are not original, and therefore may not be granted.

In the meantime, the ITU members are continuing to work toward determining a 56K standard this week, despite the IP issues which have emerged. "There's no law that says you can't move forward blindly," noted Mr. Griffith.