This article was originally published by RFID Update.
February 7, 2005—Intermec has officially withdrawn its commitment to license on a reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) basis the RFID-related intellectual property for which it holds issued and pending patents. In a January 14 letter to EPCglobal’s Hardware Action Group facilitator Sue Hutchinson, Intermec president Thomas Miller asserts that because EPCglobal, through the counsel of its law firm Dann, Dorfman, Herrell and Skillman, found that none of Intermec’s IP is necessary for GEN 2 compliance, Intermec is relieved of its obligation to offer said IP under RAND terms. “Intermec,” writes Miller, “is withdrawing its previous commitment to license this intellectual property and to do so on RAND terms. This withdrawal is effective immediately.”
What does this mean for the RFID market? It probably won’t affect the adoption of the GEN 2 standard, to which the industry has long been collectively committed. It may, however, mean that some RFID suppliers see their costs increase. Since Intermec will be negotiating each licensing deal individually, some companies that plan to incorporate Intermec IP in their products may be charged more than others for the rights to do so. Whether this happens and to what extent is impossible to know at this point. Only once the dust settles regarding this development will companies begin approaching Intermec to negotiate their terms.
For more on this story, read our Thursday story on Intermec’s official statement regarding its intellectual property vis-à-vis EPCglobal’s GEN 2 standard.
The official Intermec statement is available here (PDF)