Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity
    • Mobile

    Competitor Claims AirTight Patent Wont Hold Water

    By
    Carmen Nobel
    -
    February 22, 2006
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a wireless intrusion detection technology patent to security vendor AirTight Networks. But competitor AirDefense is calling interference, saying its similar patent applications were there first.

      On Feb. 21, AirTight announced that it had received a U.S. patent for “a method and system for monitoring a selected region of an airspace associated with local area networks of computing devices,” which covers methods of intrusion prevention and detection in wireless LANs, specifically in the companys SpectraGuard Enterprise software.

      The patent covers active monitoring and detection of threats in a wireless networks airspace, active prevention of those threats, and location tracking of those threats, AirTight officials said.

      “If theres another system that does all three, then they would be in violation of our patents,” said Dennis Tsu, vice president of marketing at AirTight in Mountain View, Calif.

      /zimages/1/28571.gifClick here to read more about AirDefenses wireless security software.

      AirDefense, which offers software that does these three things, claims that it filed similar patent applications in June 2002—predating the AirTight application, which was filed in October 2004.

      “AirDefense has been developing intellectual property in the wireless IDS [intrusion detection system] space since late 2001,” said Anil Khatod, president and CEO of AirDefense in Alpharetta, Ga.

      AirDefense has received an “issue of allowance” from the Patent Office regarding two of its patent applications, meaning that the Patent Office likely intends to issue a patent, but has yet to receive the actual patent, Khatod said.

      /zimages/1/28571.gifFor advice on how to secure your network and applications, as well as the latest security news, visit Ziff Davis Internets Security IT Hub.

      To that end, AirDefense invoked an interference action against the AirTight patent two weeks ago, anticipating that AirTight would be issued its patent first. AirDefense seeks to show that the two patents that the Patent Office intends to issue to AirDefense should supersede the patent that AirTight already received.

      /zimages/1/28571.gifRead more here from eWEEK Labs about wireless IDS systems.

      “Theres an examiner sitting there with a pile of applications, and the process of allocation is pretty random,” said Amit Sinha, chief technology officer of AirDefense. “Interference is a defined proceeding. At the end of the process it will define one patent and one patent only. We are confident that [AirTights patent] will be quashed.”

      About 1 percent of applications filed to the USPTO become involved in an interference proceeding, Sinha said.

      Meanwhile, AirTight claims that its patent is solid.

      “They [AirDefense] do have a couple of patents that have recently been allowed, but those are for very specific prevention techniques that we dont implement,” Tsu said.

      With regard to whether AirTight intends to sue AirDefense for patent infringement, Tsu said only that his company has different motives from those of NTP, the patent-holding company that aims to shut down BlackBerry e-mail service in the United States if BlackBerry maker Research In Motion does not license its technology.

      “There are multiple reasons why any company goes about getting patents,” Tsu said. “Were not filing patents as a business. Were filing patents to protect our intellectual property to help us run a business.”

      /zimages/1/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, reviews and analysis on mobile and wireless computing.

      Carmen Nobel
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×