Little old lady suing Sony, Samsung, Nokia and everyone else for infringing on her laser patents

Oh sure, she looks friendly enough. But don't let her matronly, argyle looks fool you. Retired Columbia University Professor, Gertrude Neumark Rothschild, is looking to extract some cold, hard cash from a who's who of Consumer Electronics giants. Otherwise, they can forget about importing their goods into the US. Rothschild's complaint filed with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) on February 20th claims that some 30 companies are violating a patent she owns for light-emitting and laser diodes. Today, the ITC has agreed to investigate the matter. It's worth noting that Rothschild has already successfully tested the judicial waters with lawsuits against Philips and others -- the Philips matter was settled out of court earlier this month. In other words, her case has legs. Still, we have very little confidence in the ITC's grasp of the matter when they name "HD DVD players (e.g., Blu-ray disc players)" as products to be probed. Full list of companies named in the complaint after the break.

[Via Reuters and mrontemp]

• Avago Technologies of Singapore;
• Bacol Optoelectonic Co. Ltd. of Taiwan;
• Dominant Semiconductors Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia;
• Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd., of Taiwan;
• Exceed Perseverance Electronic Ind. Co., Ltd., of China;
• Guangzhou Hongli Opto-Electronic Co., Ltd., of China;
• Harvatek Internaional Inc. of Taiwan;
• Hitachi, Ltd., of Japan;
• Kingbright Electronic Co., Ltd., of Taiwan;
• LG Electronics of Korea;
• Lite-On Technology Corp. of Taiwan;
• Lucky Light Electronics Co., Ltd., of China;
• Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., of Japan;
• Motorola, Inc., of Schaumburg, IL;
• Nokia of Finland;
• Opto Tech Corporation of Taiwan;
• Pioneer Corporation of Japan;
• Rohm Co., Ltd., of Japan;
• Samsung Group of Korea;
• Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., of Japan;
• Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd., of Korea;
• Sharp Corporation of Japan;
• Shenzhen Unilight Electronic Co., Ltd., of China;
• Shinano Kenshi Co., Ltd., of Japan;
• Sony Corporation of Japan;
• Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB of Sweden;
• Stanley Electric Co., Ltd., of Japan;
• Toshiba Corporation of Japan;
• Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., of Malvern, PA; and
• Yellow Stone Corporation of Taiwan.

[Bobs @ Mar 21st 2008 5:49AM]

She looks like my neibor

[MED @ Mar 21st 2008 5:10PM]

what the hells a neibor? is it some kind of rash?

[Steffen Jobbs @ Mar 21st 2008 7:11PM]

She is your "naybore". The one who's always trying to look into your bedroom with her laser-powered binoculars. Ewww.

[michael @ Mar 21st 2008 5:59AM]

The title of the post and the picture just made my day.

[mushrooshi @ Mar 21st 2008 6:15AM]

So is this how the Rothschilds get some of their cash?

[LordZargon @ Mar 21st 2008 6:19AM]

I say good for her, some of these companies are rich enough, big enough and ugly enough!

Besides its not as if Sony has a clean moral record now, is it?

[mymaclife @ Mar 21st 2008 6:25AM]

I think you mean 'ethical record'

[LordZargon @ Mar 21st 2008 10:14AM]

I think I meant:

"Shut up syntax and grammar nazi. There's a life outside the web.".

[Derbeste @ Mar 21st 2008 10:34AM]

That would be bad for you...

The web is one of the only places grammar doesn't really matter.

[Jesse S @ Mar 21st 2008 11:00AM]

I wouldn't doubt that the Rothschild's are richer.

[Tim @ Mar 21st 2008 11:45AM]

Wow. That escelated quickly.

[LordZargon @ Mar 21st 2008 12:01PM]

@Derbeste

Shame mymaclife (name kinda sums it up) couldn't see that.

[mymaclife @ Mar 21st 2008 2:04PM]

Had I been a Nazi I would have also pointed out the more glaring grammar issues with your post. FAIL!

[Clockwork @ Mar 21st 2008 2:13PM]

People believing that grammar has no role on the web is the reason why people undermine websites such as wikipedia.

[Student Driver @ Mar 21st 2008 5:34PM]

She probably needs the money to fund her latest DIY Home LASIK Kit.

[Sam Winter @ Mar 21st 2008 8:22PM]

@LordZargon

Don't go attacking others just because they point out your mistakes. Your use of the word "moral" instead of "ethical" was definitely not a "syntax or grammar" error. The words have entirely different meanings.

[mymaclife @ Mar 22nd 2008 5:32AM]

@ Sam Winter
Thanks Sam, but on reflection I should have been more sensitive to Lord, it must have taken him ages to write the post using one finger, as other people have pointed out he'll be fine as long as he stays within the web and doesn't venture out into society.

[mymaclife @ Mar 21st 2008 6:25AM]

"Little old lady sues God for lack of height"

[Craig @ Mar 21st 2008 8:26AM]

How do you measure the height of a god?

[Clockwork @ Mar 21st 2008 8:42AM]

metric..

[UKNigel @ Mar 21st 2008 11:18AM]

I prefer parsecs, they are a much more standard unit that even metric. I am about 0.00000000000000000000021 parsecs tall.

[B.C. @ Mar 24th 2008 12:06AM]

The 6.25 billion of Earths population using metric every day may disagree.

[Lee Hester @ Mar 30th 2008 3:29PM]

I believe God uses cubits.

[Johan S @ Mar 21st 2008 6:26AM]

I googled and found the following link that talks about patents a different company settled with her over (no idea if the same patents are at issue here) http://www.led-professional.com/content/view/281/62/

I really wish people don't wait till companies and technologies become huge to sue them. That way workarounds can be used that don't infringe. Maybe they could have chosen an alternate method of manufacture? It's like if a city decided to note down everytime you speed and then send you a huge bill at the end of the month. It's not sounding very ethical to me.

[afrmx @ Mar 21st 2008 6:31AM]

This obviously is not ethical, but what good it is to sue a small company that won't pay the big bucks to settle?

[yoshi @ Mar 21st 2008 8:02AM]

Well, you really don't know the background behind all of this (neither do I and I don't care enough to bother to look). She may have attempted to get the corporations to pay up without success. And, when they booted her out the door on her old and frail butt, she decided to hire some goons (of the legal persuasion) to get even.

Sometimes (most times?) companies are more apt to listen when the person doing the talking has ESQ after his/her name.

[Hax Or @ Mar 21st 2008 9:59AM]

Companies aren't ethical you dolt, people are ethical.

Companies are ruthless animals that prey on the weak. You should watch the Corporation sometime. It may, perhaps, enlighten you.

JK, you will always stand up for the corporations that rob others of intellectual property, and try their best to get away with it.

9 times out of 10, they do get away with it. Companies aren't stupid, they cheat because they can.

[kiakid2006 @ Mar 21st 2008 7:05PM]

I wonder why she is not suing Microsoft considering the green l.e.d's in the Xbox 360's. And fact that almost all 360 are made south of the boarder. That what NAFTA gets you a lot of crappy 360's on the cheap. I have also found a lot patents that bypass the process to create the l.e.d in her patent and all of them are by company's in japan that help Sony on a lot technology projects including Blu-Ray.

[artifex @ Mar 22nd 2008 3:13PM]

"I really wish people don't wait till companies and technologies become huge to sue them. "

It can take years for the Patent Office to grant a patent. In the meantime, people sometimes start infringing on it.

[bdwebb @ Mar 23rd 2008 1:31AM]

This is nowhere near the type of submarine patent that you're used to hearing about. The race for blue and shorter wavelength LEDs has been an intense decade-long race involving quantum mechanics that don't fall under the "obvious" category. It's exactly the type of patent that ought to be enforced to the limit. If this lady did significant research in the field, it wouldn't have gone unnoticed.

[afrmx @ Mar 21st 2008 6:28AM]

What no Apple lawsuit??

[dzhiurgis @ Mar 21st 2008 6:38AM]

Crack, anyone?

[crho85 @ Mar 21st 2008 12:18PM]

Him no understand your comment

[monkfishbandana @ Mar 21st 2008 6:47AM]

LADY: But all of them! All of them are stealing my laser ideas!

NURSE: Are they now?

LADY: Yes, look!

*hands nurse the list, scribbled on a t-shirt*

NURSE: I see. Well I'll be sure to hand this to matron when she arrives.

[giuliop @ Mar 21st 2008 7:04AM]

LADY: But all of them! All of them are stealing my laser ideas!

NURSE: Are they now?

LADY: Yes, look!

*Points her laser gun at the nurse and slashes her in two*

LADY: Oh, sorry, dear.

[Noah @ Mar 21st 2008 8:00AM]

Does this mean that my sharks with lasers infringe as well?

You can't attach anything to a laser beam, let alone a shark, but you can attach lasers. Patent infringing lasers!

[tekdroid @ Mar 21st 2008 8:01AM]

I stole her cookie recipe in 1989. She has patented ever since.

It's all my fault it has come to this.

[NHAnimator @ Mar 21st 2008 8:13AM]

Someone should sue HER for wearing that sweater.

[cormier6083 @ Mar 21st 2008 7:58PM]

She has no taste in fashion... or taste itself!

[r3loaded @ Mar 21st 2008 8:17AM]

You gotta read the press release while listening to this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu-6IppcvRo

[Drew @ Mar 21st 2008 8:47AM]

...We've also been told to apologize for using the term "geezers." Coming up next, the case of the cantankerous old geezer! ..

[Smileypanda @ Mar 21st 2008 8:56AM]

I guess this was her retirement savings plan.

[Tommy @ Mar 24th 2008 3:16PM]

Beats the Lottery, huh ?

[bbb3108 @ Mar 21st 2008 9:15AM]

I think you mean i.e., not e.g.

I.e. = meaning
E.g. = for example (exempla gratis, literally "free example" or something like that)

[tcc3 @ Mar 21st 2008 9:37AM]

Alright Chilly Palmer, simmer down.

[Hax Or @ Mar 21st 2008 10:31AM]

Grammar police!

Everyone get your hands up in the air!

[YasSouid @ Mar 22nd 2008 3:18AM]

Nice try at being a complete tool, but you should know that E.g. exactly stands for "exempli gratia"- you're simply in the wrong case.

[Abuzar @ Mar 26th 2008 10:55PM]

Thanks, that was information work knowing. I always wondered at the difference.

[tobi @ Mar 21st 2008 9:28AM]

Well, to put this into perspective one should add, that the patent she refers to is in general about how to tweak your semiconductor-sandwich (LED,LD)to get blue (and other) laser light out of it.
Hence all of you owe her some, since without her research you wouldn`t have your nice HD-DVD /Blue-Ray Players.

And don't wine about sueing big companies. If you would know how ruthless these companies act on patentholders if they want their patents (sueing till he gives up is one nice option) you would think otherwise.

And last but not least: She had the frikin idea how to get these LD/LED for you and so she earns this Money bigtime.

Tobi

[Genome @ Mar 23rd 2008 5:43AM]

I agree, when RIAA lawyers are prosecuting children and grandparents over pop songs written by idiots.

Why is it so wrong for an INTELLIGENT and SMART lady to sue people who actually made use of her ideas?

The argument about sueing early is invalid since then companies wouldn't be looking for the most efficient way to do things, but the "least patent infringing" way. Thats nonsense.

Although in general I am against software patents, I think inventors do need a way to protect their ideas.