RFID Consortium Embraces ISO Amendment for Generation 2 Protocol

October 31, 2006 // Published as a news service by IHS

The RFID Consortium will provide licenses in compliance with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 18000-6 Amendment 1 incorporating the EPCglobal Generation 2 ultra high frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID) air interface protocol that was published by ISO.

Consistent with its original intent when first announced, the consortium is being organized to provide efficient patent management for patent holders and convenient access to Generation 2 UHF RFID patents for manufacturers and users under both the EPCglobal standard and the ISO standard, according to the RFID Consortium.

"The RFID Consortium intends to make available licenses that will be convenient and useful to manufacturers and users of products manufactured to comply with these standards," said Kevin Ashton, a spokesperson for the RFID Consortium and vice president of marketing for ThingMagic.

"The amendment to the ISO/IEC 18000-6 Standard is an important and necessary milestone, enabling the industry to move forward in a comprehensive and consistent manner worldwide. This action is a critical step which will advance the consortium's licensing initiative."

The RFID Consortium intends to offer licenses intended to promote competition in the RFID arena by making available, through the consortium, a portfolio license that will foster compliance with both the EPCglobal and ISO standards.

The RFID Consortium is open to all patent holders, regardless of whether they were involved in the development of those standards. The consortium expects to continue to work in parallel with those standard setting organizations to assist in the commercialization and wide acceptance of the standards those organizations independently develop.

The RFID Consortium is working to provide a structured approach for holders of essential RFID patents to receive fair compensation for those patents, at a reasonable cost to the end-user, thus promoting rapid adoption of RFID, according to the consortium.

This approach offers competitive benefits by integrating complementary technologies and reducing transaction costs. It offers an effective alternative to time-consuming and expensive individual licensing agreements. Under the proposed licensing arrangement, all essential RFID patents owned by members of the consortium will be made available to interested companies via a single license on fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms.

Source: RFID Consortium.