“How does a technology company double its share price in one
day? Geoworks has achieved just that by announcing its Intellectual
Property Right position on Wireless Application Protocol (WAP).
This is of significance to virtually all organisations that intend
to conduct eCommerce, individuals who want information while on the
move, and many technology companies that provide the underlying
infrastructure. It is deeply concerning”
“The WAP Forum has been set up with this type of eventuality in
mind and it has established a protocol whereby member companies can
license technology to other members on ‘fair, reasonable, and
non-discriminatory commercial terms’. While Geoworks is the first
member to notify the forum of its patented technology rights, we
understand that other members are following suit.”
“A clue to the impact of this on the industry is contained at
the end of Geoworks’ White Paper… In summary the lists
suggest that providers of WAP services of any sort (telecoms,
applications, browsers, development tools, ASPs – even Web
sites and consulting services) as well as the WAP-enabled devices
themselves – will all need to take out a license to use the
technology.”