UW-Madison has filed a lawsuit against Sony and Toshiba claiming a chip used in the popular PlayStation 2 game system makes use of technology that was invented at UW-Madison by Chancellor John Wiley and engineering professor John H. Perepezko and is still protected under a 1986 patent.
According to Andy Kohn, spokesman for the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the organization behind the Oct. 20 lawsuit, WARF attempted to mediate the problem with Sony and Toshiba without resorting to legal action.
\Once we discovered they were using [the technology], we tried to contact them and get them to sign a license,"" Kohn said. ""They contend that they are not using the technology. We believe we have evidence that they are.""
WARF is the designated patent-management organization for UW-Madison. While Toshiba produces the chip, Sony is also a defendant because it sells PlayStation 2 units, which contain the chip.
The lawsuit centers on the ""Emotion Engine"" processor that powers PlayStation 2. The technology in question is a diffusion barrier, which WARF contends Toshiba used to make the Emotion Engine.
""[The diffusion barrier] helps in devices like [central processing units] that operate at higher temperatures,"" UW-Madison spokesperson Terry Devitt said. ""It's a way to keep, in this case, copper atoms where they belong.""
The lawsuit aims to protect faculty's work, which Kohn said Toshiba copied.
""We think it's important that the intellectual property of our faculty be protected and that it is not abused,"" Devitt said. ""They give out patents for a reason.""
Sony and Toshiba were not available for comment.
Although WARF has over 600 technologies under license, Perepezko and Kohn agreed such legal actions are rare for the foundation.
While the WARF has not yet disclosed the amount it would be willing to settle for, the settlement could reflect the 22.5 million PlayStation 2 units sold in the last fiscal year at approximately $180 per system.
Kohn said WARF would prefer the companies sign a license and negotiate royalties with UW-Madison, rather than going to trial.
However, if the companies are unwilling to settle, WARF is not completely averse to a trial. If the UW-Madison group wins the lawsuit, it may be entitled to triple damages if the court rules that Toshiba intentionally copied the technology.
""That's the question they have to ask themselves: Do they want to pay us the license or do they want to pay triple what they might pay in a license,"" Kohn said.
Sony and Toshiba have 20 days from the Oct. 20 filing date to respond to the lawsuit, but have not done so yet.
