After two years of deliberation, the US Patent & Trademark Office has ruled to confirm the patent that covers IEEE 802.5 Token-Ring and 100Mbps FDDI networks held by Olof Soderblom and his Willemijn Holding BV, Microbytes Daily reports: the UK Court of Appeals ruled in favour of Madge Networks Inc in the long-running battle with Willemijn, but litigation is still proceeding between the two in San Jose; with the patent reapproved, Willemijn says there will be no increase in licence fees for companies making a new entry into the Token-Ring or FDDI market, but those that have been in litigation over it will soon be notified of an increase in royalty rates for rights under the patent; if it loses, Madge faces retroactive payments extending back to 1981.
