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Ruckus Wireless Files Suit Against NETGEAR and Rayspan for Infringement of Wi-Fi Patents
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Sunnyvale, CA -- Ruckus Wireless, Inc. (Ruckus), a pioneer in development of Wi-Fi technology, today announced it has filed suit in the United States Court for the Northern District of California against NETGEAR, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTGR) and Rayspan Corporation for patent infringement.
In its filing, Ruckus Wireless alleges that in the development of the NETGEAR RangeMax WPN 824v3 wireless router, NETGEAR and Rayspan infringed two Wi-Fi patents (U.S. Patent Nos. 7,358,912 and 7,193,562) granted to Ruckus Wireless by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The patents-in-suit are fundamental to intelligent and adaptable Wi-Fi antenna arrays like those developed by Ruckus Wireless. Ruckus has over 70 patents granted or pending worldwide in the area of intelligent antenna or wireless technology innovation.
In its complaint, Ruckus Wireless alleges that NETGEAR makes, uses, offers to sell, sells and imports in the United States the RangeMax WPN 824v3 wireless router that infringes the patents-in-suit. Ruckus Wireless also alleges that Rayspan has committed acts of contributory infringement by making, using, offering to sell, selling and importing into the United States components incorporated into NETGEAR wireless routers that infringe the patents-in-suit.
"As a company we have single-mindedly focused on making Wi-Fi networks robust in spite of the medium's inherent instability. We have spent years developing what is recognized around the world as breakthrough technology that brings new levels of range, performance and reliability to Wi-Fi," said Selina Lo, president and CEO of Ruckus Wireless.
"Our unique Smart Wi-Fi innovations have received dozens of industry awards and their benefits have been available to over a million users around the world. We have a duty to our stockholders to diligently protect our intellectual property to keep others from benefiting from the results of our years of hard work, research and product development and market education," concluded Lo.
Ruckus Wireless seeks a permanent injunction that bars NETGEAR and Rayspan from making, using, importing, offering to sell or selling the allegedly infringing products. Ruckus is also seeking damages and reasonable royalties realized by the sale of the RangeMax WPN 824v3 product, and possibly other infringing products, as well as statutory damages.
In January 2005, Ruckus Wireless and NETGEAR announced and entered into a technology licensing agreement under which Ruckus would develop the underlying technology within the NETGEAR RangeMax 824v1 and v2 wireless routers, the predecessors to the RangeMax 824v3 at issue. The resulting hardware and software technology developed for NETGEAR was owned and patented by Ruckus Wireless.
According to NETGEAR, the RangeMax 824 has quickly become one of the fastest and best selling products in its history and the industry's "top selling MIMO-G product line" (http://www.netgear.com/About/PressReleases/en-US/2005/20050727.aspx). To date, NETGEAR has shipped around the world more than 1.7 million RangeMax 824 units using Ruckus Wireless technology.
Ruckus Wireless develops, markets and manufactures its own popular brand of award-winning Smart Wi-Fi products and systems. Ruckus was recently recognized by the World Economic Forum as a 2007 Technology Pioneer and, to date, has received over 20 awards for its efforts in Wi-Fi technology innovation.
Consequently, Ruckus Smart Wi-Fi technology has become widely adopted around the world as a superior method for extending the range and increasing the reliability and performance of Wi-Fi. Smart Wi-Fi defines the use of a miniaturized intelligent antenna array and expert control software to form and direct Wi-Fi signals over the best path at any given time -- continuously adapting to changes in the radio frequency (RF) environment.
"Ruckus Wireless is a pioneer in the area of adaptive smart antenna systems and the technology is really hard to get right," said Bill Kish, co-founder and CTO at Ruckus Wireless. "The advances we've made in countering the effect of interference and other RF challenges through the combination of cost-effective antenna arrays and sophisticated antenna control software are truly remarkable and unique. Like any technology innovator, we are obligated to protect the intellectual property that makes companies like ours valuable, and the investments in making difficult innovations worthwhile," concluded Kish.
About Ruckus Wireless, Inc.
Based in Sunnyvale, California, Ruckus Wireless is a next-generation Wi-Fi company credited with pioneering "Smart Wi-Fi" technology. Named a 2007 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, Ruckus Wireless was formed in 2004 at Sequoia Capital. The company designs, develops and markets industrial-strength Wi-Fi systems that provide reliable distribution of delay-sensitive multimedia content and services over standard 802.11 technology. Its flagship product, ZoneFlex, is the first wireless LAN system to combine the best in centralized wireless LAN principles with state-of-the-art Wi-Fi advances such as smart antenna arrays and wireless meshing. Its MediaFlex line of multimedia wireless routers is used by more than 125 broadband operators around the world to extend digital services such as IPTV throughout the home without wires. The company's patented hardware and software technologies deliver predictable performance, extended range and real-time adaptability to changing Wi-Fi environments. The company has raised approximately $42 million in financing from premier venture capital investors, consumer electronics companies and broadband operators such as Motorola, T-Ventures, Telus, Sutter Hill Ventures, Mitsui, Sequoia and others. Ruckus Wireless is led by President and CEO Selina Lo. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.ruckuswireless.com.
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