To put a picture (and a tabletop pano) on the faces of the people mentioned
in this meeting visit http://360vr.com/ford
regards,
Jook Leung
Michael Quan <email@hidden> wrote:
>Last week Jim Galvin, Jook Leung and myself traveled to meet Ford Oxaal in
>Albany, NY. The purpose of our meeting was to better understand Oxaal's
>intentions regarding the VR community now that he has settled with iPIX
>over use of his intellectual property (IP). After a long legal battle, it
>is now IPIX who is licensed by Oxaal, and on a non-exclusive basis.
>IPIX paid a cash settlement to Oxaal.
>
>http://www.pictosphere.com
>http://www.ipix.com
>
>As you know, intellectual property in the form of patents can be
>frighteningly complex and murky. Oxaal holds nine issued patents and
>several pending applications, including U.S. Patent 5,903,782, "Method and
>Apparatus for producing a three-hundred and sixty degree spherical visual
>data set," as well as 5,684,937; 5,936,630; 6,118,454; 6,157,385;
>6,243,099; 6,252,603; 6,271,853; and 6,323,862.
>
>http://www.uspto.gov
>
>Even upon multiple re-readings of this patent and his other patents, the
>average reader will have difficulty deciphering exactly what the patents
>cover. All his patents are U.S. patents. Their claims are subject to
>interpretation, and possibly -- litigation.
>
>Oxaal claims he invented, among other things, the concept of
>"capturing, storing, and processing full-surround data sets", and
>that the voluminous prior art presented during his years of
>litigation with IPIX, -- who vigorously tried to invalidate Oxaal's
>IP -- backs up his claim.
>
>In the next few weeks, Oxaal will be releasing his first VR software
>product with a license that will grant permission to commercially use his
>IP as well as "immunize" his customers from suit by third parties, including
>IPIX. Oxaal also indicated that he is willing to license his technology
>to members of the VR community including hardware/software vendors and
>even creators. He stated his goal is to achieve a "reasonable level
>of profit for
>his life's work and pioneering contributions to the field of immersive
>imaging", and to help foster the growth of the entire industry in the long
>term.
>
>Oxaal is aware of the spirited defense on his behalf put forth by the
>international VR community regarding the claims by IPIX, and he said the
>positive energy helped him get through some difficult times. During our
>visit, Oxaal expressed an earnest desire to work with the VR community to
>move the technology forward. He is definitely not into the "click" fees,
>and feels such a model stifles growth.
>
>On a cold and snowy day, three individual VR creators journeyed to meet
>Oxaal. Expecting an older professorial gentleman, we were surprised by
>the person we met: a middle-aged, sharp witted, father of three small
>children, with a hearty laugh.
>
>I fully believe that the International VR community can expect more surprises.
>
>Michael Quan
>
>27 January 2003
>
>{DISCLAIMER: The views presented are my own and do not represent other
>organizations or companies.}
>
JOOK LEUNG --> email@hidden Panoramic photography --> http://360vr.com
_______________________________________________
quicktime-vr mailing list | email@hidden
Help/Unsubscribe/Archives: http://www.lists.apple.com/mailman/listinfo/quicktime-vr
Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored.
