
The university’s licensing arm – Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) – filed a patent in 1998 for technology which is said to improve the power efficiency of microchips. It is the alleged breach of this patent that led WARF to sue Apple in January 2014.
In court papers, the university claimed Apple had ignored its offers to license the patent, which would mean paying a fee for its continued use. Therefore, the university said, Apple was wilfully infringing the patent. WARF said: “The inventors are leading researchers in the field of computer microprocessor architecture. Their work at the University of Wisconsin, particularly the work for which they were awarded the patent-in-suit, significantly improved the efficiency and performance of contemporary computer processors.”- Why a rush to support Apple Pay could be wrong for independent retailers
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