A UK court has ruled that the Olof Soderblom patent on Token Ring technology is invalid. The patent was challenged by Robert Madge of UK company Madge Networks Ltd (CI No 1,376) who proved that the patent doesn’t refer to token-passing technology, or cover local area networks. While Madge’s victory is shallow in the UK since the patent expired here in 1988, Madge is also contesting the patent in the US where it is valid until 1998. If Madge wins in the US, then IBM et al may reclaim the $20m in royalties Soderblom has reaped from the patent. Details – p5.
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