Cisco, Intel And Others Join To Form WiMAX Patent Pool

Six WiMAX firms have teamed together to create the Open Patent Alliance, a group that's goal is to jointly license WiMAX patents so they can keep royalty rates in check and make the technology more affordable. The companies involved in the formation of the OPA include Cisco Systems, Intel Corp., Alcatel-Lucent, Clearwire, Sprint and Samsung.
the OPA members made it clear that companies that join the group don't relinquish their patents. The IPR remains with the owners and they are free to use them. Instead the group will work to make it easier for others to license those patents.


In addition, the OPA referred to itself as a "patent pool" and said that it is very different from the WiMAX Forum, an organization with a goal of promoting interoperability and collaboration among its members.

However, several well-known WiMax providers are not on the list, including Motorola Inc., which is providing equipment for a field test of mobile WiMax services in Chicago as part of the Xohm initiative spearheaded by Sprint. Other companies which are interested in WiMAX, which are not yet a part of this pool are Motorola, Qualcomm and Nokia.