It seems that we are all infringing on the patent of a company by the name of Innovatio IP every time that we use WiFi and while they have been concentrating on suing everyone from coffee shops, grocery stores, and hotels there are some who would suggest that they could eventually go after home owners.
Some of the companies that have been targeted include: Panera Bread, Best Westerns, Caribou Coffee, Comfort Inns, and more; with “offered” settlements between $2,300 and $5,000. In other words amounts that are low enough to make it cheaper for the “offending” companies to settle rather than fight in court.
It is reasoning like this that allows companies like Innovatio IP to profit because what they might not make in large legitimate claims they can make more by peppering multiple companies with low-amount “irritation” claims of copyright infringement.
Even though much of this questionable litigation is being directed towards companies the lawyers for Innovatio IP believe that their patents, which they purchased, are also being infringed on by anyone using a home WiFi network. They have stated however that they don’t plan on going after home WiFi users – at this point in time.
“Innovatio has made a strategic and business judgment at this stage that it doesn’t intend to pursue [lawsuits on the basis of] residential use of WiFi,” McAndrews said during a phone conversation last week.
However the lawyers also stated that they plan to licence this portfolio to the fullest extent, meaning of course anyone using WiFi.
via Techdirt