Blue LED boffin wins $8.1m from ex-employer
Could have been $189m...
Posted in CIO, 13th January 2005 16:48 GMT
Free whitepaper – Solid State Drives and High-Speed Memory
The brains behind those flashing blue lights used in almost all the world's Bluetooth devices to show they're working has won $8.1m from the company he alleged had failed to compensate him appropriately for his discovery.
The inventor of the blue LED, Professor Shuji Nakamura, was orginally paid an extra $200 for his work by his then employer, Nichia, a Japanese chemicals company. Today, he is engaged in research at the University of California.
Nakamura took Nichia to court in 2001. He was initally awarded a whopping $189m in compensation, but his opponent appealed, claiming the payment would puts its future in jeopardy. Last month, the Japanese high court told the two parties to reach a settlement that would leave Nichia still standing.
Lawyers for both sides thrashed out the $8.1m deal, according to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, a figure with which Nakamura said he was "completely dissatisfied" - who wouldn't be in the circumstances? - but felt he had to accept. His lawyer, however, said the settlement still amounted to a "major victory for the researcher who claimed his rights as an individual". ®
Related stories
SightSound looks to shut down Napster - again
MEPs call for fresh start on software patents
IBM pledges 500 patents to OS developers
Hitachi lobs lawsuit at Chinese disk drive maker
Budding inventors warned of dishonest promoters
DualDisc roll out challenged by Euro patent holder
Free whitepaper – Ensuring service assurance in the new normal
Reshaping IT
Assuring application service quality
Ensuring service assurance in the new normal
Driving Situational Awareness:
Transforming IT culture
