Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!apple!desnoyer
From: desnoyer@Apple.COM (Peter Desnoyers)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re: FDDI/Soderblum(?)
Message-ID: <30504@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 11 May 89 17:38:29 GMT
References: <YYOB=wS00UoJM0j0oe@andrew.cmu.edu>
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 14

In article <YYOB=wS00UoJM0j0oe@andrew.cmu.edu> ddp+@ANDREW.CMU.EDU (Drew Daniel Perkins) writes:
>As I understand it, most companies in the IEEE 802.5 Token Ring business
>have payed outrageous sums of money to a Swiss man named Soderblum (sp?)
>for licenses on supposedly patented technology.  Given that the MAC
>layer of FDDI is essentially taken directly from IEEE 802.5, I'm curious
>if this issue has been raised?  Does anyone know?
>
>Drew

Yup. FDDI comes under his patent. The kicker is that his percentage
applies to the SYSTEM cost, which is a powerful incentive to package
token-ring products as separate add-ons, rather than building them in. 

				Peter Desnoyers