A SPECTACULAR David-versus-Goliath-style victory in the European patent court could bring forward the day we can safely use a cellphone as a credit card, passport, driving licence or identity card.
Inventor Wayne Michaels formed Celltrace Communications of Winkfield, Berkshire 10 years ago. Last week, he won a four-year legal battle against six electronics industry heavyweights including Schlumberger, Bull, Gemplus and Swisscom. These firms had asked the European Patent Office in Munich to reject Celltrace’s 1998 patent on a way to make private data secure in a cellphone, on the grounds that it wasn’t new. But the EPO has upheld the…
