The CSIRO is Australia's largest not-for-profit scientific organisation. With a total annual budget of over $1.2 Billion the CSIRO's annual revenue comes from multiple sources including direct government funding (about 60%), consulting services income, and income from products and services. The CSIRO also has an IP portfolio from which it earns income annually through royalties and licensing agreements.

In April 2012 the CSIRO announced that it had reached a multi-million dollar settlement toresolve litigation in the US against seven companies for infringement of a current US patent owned by the CSIRO relating to fundamental aspects of Wi-Fi wireless communication systems. The resolution of the recent litigation against these seven companies will result in a one-off amount of $220 million as income to the CSIRO as well as ongoing royalty payments. Including this latest $220 million amount the patents held by the CSIRO relating to Wi-Fi communications technologies and systems have resulted in a total income of $430 million since the CSIRO began litigating against patent infringers (in the USA) seeking financial compensation.

The key patent involved in this Wi-Fi technology-based IP litigation was applied for in 1993 inthe USA, awarded by the USPTO in 1996, and so will expire next year in 2013. With an estimated 3 billion commercially manufactured devices currently in use in the world that utilise in some way the CSIRO-patented Wi-Fi invention some optimistic estimates put the total income the CSIRO will earn from its' Wi-Fi patents as high as $1 Billion.

CSIRO's Wi-Fi patents are an interesting case study in commercial R&D including how the IPwas developed by their researchers, how the IP was managed, the attempts made by the CSIRO itself to commercialise the IP, and the ultimate source of income gained from this IP as royalties and patent infringement compensation from commercial for-profit companies who incorporated their IP into now-ubiquitous Wi-Fi communications products.

Write a report that analyses the CSIRO's Wi-Fi patents, developed as part of their commercial R&D efforts in the 1990's, with respect to strategic and revenue-generating benefits to the organisation. Also consider the importance of commercial R&D in general to the CSIRO as part of its current strategic plans for the organisation.

General Requirements for This Assignment

• A written report is to be prepared using an appropriate academic writing style and toinclude a list of references.
• Read the Assessment Criteria guidelines in the Unit Guide for guidance on how this assignment will be marked. Make sure that any analysis you present is your own - not simply a summary of what is presented in source or reference materials. Your report must be an analysis report not a literature review.
• The word limit is 1000 words minimum to 1500 words maximum - not including the References section. Word count includes the first word of the first section heading to the last word of the last section in your report (but it does not including the References section).
• The submitted report file cab be in MS Word or PDF.
• Do not simply present the information requested for this assignment in a question andanswer format in your report i.e., do not reproduce the questions from the previous page in your report.
• Don't waste time with fancy layouts, colours, cover pages, and so on. A simple text-basedformat is all that is needed with the report layout consisting of a few sections of text (with section headings). Use photos or diagrams sparingly and only if necessary and/or relevant to include in your report. Just use a basic and common text font such as Arial or Times New Roman with at least 10 point font size for body text. Single-spaced paragraphs are acceptable.
• There must be a Reference Section (Bibliography) in your submission. Marks will bededucted if it is omitted, not suitably formatted, or lacking more than at least six relevant citations. Use a suitable referencing style such as the Harvard Style or IEEE.
• Don't be tempted to plagiarise. If you unsure what constitutes plagiarism, cheating, orcollusion then refer to the Academic Honesty information provided for all units on Cloud Deakin in the Unit Guide and Information folder. It is your responsibility to fully understand what constitutes plagiarism, cheating, or collusion and what the consequences forstudents at Deakin University can be for offenders.