Wednesday, April 9th 2008
Ultra Products Sues Power Supply Manufacturers
There's not a lot of information on the web regarding this case filled in the Florida Middle District Court, but it seems that Ultra Products is now searching for legal ways to sue a whole bunch of power supply manufacturers that infringe on of their patents for modular power supplies. The companies that are being sued by Ultra Products include: Antec, Corsair Memory, Enhance Electronics, E-Power Technology/PCMCIS, FSP Group USA, Koolance USA, Mushkin, OCZ Technology, Sea Sonic Electronics, Silverstone Technology, SPI Electronic, Spire-Bytecom Fanner Corporation, Tagan Technology, Thermaltake Technology, Topower Computer Industrial, Topower Computer U.S.A., Zalman Technology Company and pretty much every company that has manufactured modular PSUs.
Source:
JonnyGURU.com
114 Comments on Ultra Products Sues Power Supply Manufacturers
what strikes me as odd is that they were granted a patent for such a mundane idea in the first place.. plugs and sockets on the AC side of a psu dont strike me as worthy of a patent..
and where the f-ck does "modular" come in whats removable cables got to do with "modular".. all very odd..
trog
I think Ultra may be on its way out and needs a bit of cash or publicity.
The patent is for the modular interface on the housing. The claim is narrow enough to where the only thing that is patented is not the cables or the fact that they're removable, but the fact that there is an interface on the housing that allows the cables to be modular, ergo, removable. It's also stated in the patent that this is for a device that is inside a personal computer and that the removable cables are those that supply DC power to other devices inside the computer.
I know the legalese makes it difficult to understand, but it is all right there. It's not as vague as some people here are making it out to be and it's not an "old idea" that Ultra just decided to patent.
The time-line seems very tight to me.
call it what u like its plugs and sockets stuck on something that previously didnt have plugs and sockets.. very original..
ultra might be the first to be cheeky enough to patent such an (unoriginal idea) and i am still amazed that they got away with it..
which probably explains why so many seem to have broken the patent.. it never occurred to them that such an unoriginal idea was under a patent.. it wouldnt to me..
but i am just a normal kinda dude.. who thinks in a normal kinda way not a member of the legal profession..
but as u say its all there.. my views are that in a vaguely sane world it shouldnt have been allowed to be all there.. the patent should never have been granted..
trog
I sure as hell dont, Im really thinking this is gonna end it a deal out side out court. It will save both sides alot of money, Ultra will get some cash out of it, and everyone will be happy - including us.
thank god pp&c isn't affected :)
But keep in mind, OCZ bought PCP&P. OCZ has modular PSUs...
and yes, pp&c has never and probably never will make modular psu's, as modular cabling can lead to more voltage resistance and corrosion and things trapped in the modular ports can really screw things up, and this is against pp&c's quality check etc.
though ocz does own pp&c, pp&c might get affected by this.
I highly doubt this will truly affect us a whole lot. I think the judgement in this case will have to take into account the market that it will affect, and therefore, it would be an unsound call to give Ultra exclusive rights to modular PSUs.
What I hope comes of this if it does come down to Ultra being the only modular PSU manufacturer is that Ultra actually starts churning out some awesome high-end PSUs. I have a different view on this.
In California, as well as many other states, we have a term called "Spirit of the Law" versus "Letter of the Law" that is used in regards to Law Enforcement.
Say a newlywed couple is sitting on the beach sharing a couple of glasses of wine watching the sunset together. The law is, no alcohol on the beach. Letter of the Law says that you cite them both. Spirit of the Law allows you to make a reasonable decision on the action to take. Under Spirit of the Law, you could still cite them, leave them alone, or simply let them know that there is no alcohol allowed on the beach, and ask them to stop drinking it.
I think a similar decision will take place. If they would have caught this earlier, say right after the patent passed, then maybe it wouldn't have such a drastic effect on the market. I think because 60% (or somewhere around there...) of PSUs that system builders buy are modular, Ultra won't end up getting all they could possibly get.
Also keep in mind the term monopoly. Patents aren't meant to create them. If Ultra gains exclusive rights to manufacturer modular PSUs, then they will be a monopolist in the modular PSU market. I have faith that the government will not let this happen. If they do find that Ultra deserves a settlement, I believe that smaller PSU companies will die, but they will ensure to not bankrupt all the companies to create a monopoly.