Thunderbolt trademark rights will be transferred from Apple to Intel
Though Apple originally filed for ownership of the "Thunderbolt" trademark associated with its new high-speed data port, the rights will be transferred to Intel, the company with which it cooperatively developed the new standard.
Intel said that though Apple filed for the original trademark, the Mac maker is currently in the process of transferring the rights to chipmaker Intel, according to Bright Side of News. The report also noted that Apple "will continue to have unrestricted use of the technology."
"As part of our collaboration with Apple, they did some of the initial trademark filings," Intel Senior Communications Manager Dave Salvator reportedly said. "Intel has full rights to the Thunderbolt trademark now and into the future. The Thunderbolt name will be used going forward on all platforms, irrespective of operating system."
The news comes as PC maker Sony has revealed plans to adopt Thunderbolt technology, but with a standard USB connector instead of the DisplayPort connector utilized by Apple. The report noted that it's likely that Sony's utilization could be rebranded, much as its version of FireWire became dubbed i.LINK.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that it was Apple who filed for the trademark associated with Thunderbolt high-speed input/output technology. The filing took place in both U.S. and Canadian trademark offices, and made no mention of Intel.
Intel originally codenamed the technology "Light Peak, but decided on the Thunderbolt moniker during the development process. Apple contributed to the development by including the mini DisplayPort standard and an "electrical solution" that changed the original optical cables to copper to provide power.
Apple introduced Thunderbolt in its refreshed lineup of MacBook Pros earlier this year. And earlier this month, Thunderbolt also came to Apple's new iMacs.
While Apple is expected to quickly bring Thunderbolt technology to the rest of its Mac lineup, and Sony plans to implement its own unique take, other companies have been less sold on the technology. This week, an executive with PC maker Hewlett-Packard said that the company has decided for now to stick with USB 3.0 for its next-generation high-speed I/O technology.
Intel has said it views USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt as "complementary" to one another. The chipmaker has also encouraged developers to support both the Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 standards with any external peripherals. The 5Gbps transfer speeds of USB 3.0 are half as fast as the 10Gbps throughput of Thunderbolt.
Intel said that though Apple filed for the original trademark, the Mac maker is currently in the process of transferring the rights to chipmaker Intel, according to Bright Side of News. The report also noted that Apple "will continue to have unrestricted use of the technology."
"As part of our collaboration with Apple, they did some of the initial trademark filings," Intel Senior Communications Manager Dave Salvator reportedly said. "Intel has full rights to the Thunderbolt trademark now and into the future. The Thunderbolt name will be used going forward on all platforms, irrespective of operating system."
The news comes as PC maker Sony has revealed plans to adopt Thunderbolt technology, but with a standard USB connector instead of the DisplayPort connector utilized by Apple. The report noted that it's likely that Sony's utilization could be rebranded, much as its version of FireWire became dubbed i.LINK.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that it was Apple who filed for the trademark associated with Thunderbolt high-speed input/output technology. The filing took place in both U.S. and Canadian trademark offices, and made no mention of Intel.
Intel originally codenamed the technology "Light Peak, but decided on the Thunderbolt moniker during the development process. Apple contributed to the development by including the mini DisplayPort standard and an "electrical solution" that changed the original optical cables to copper to provide power.
Apple introduced Thunderbolt in its refreshed lineup of MacBook Pros earlier this year. And earlier this month, Thunderbolt also came to Apple's new iMacs.
While Apple is expected to quickly bring Thunderbolt technology to the rest of its Mac lineup, and Sony plans to implement its own unique take, other companies have been less sold on the technology. This week, an executive with PC maker Hewlett-Packard said that the company has decided for now to stick with USB 3.0 for its next-generation high-speed I/O technology.
Intel has said it views USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt as "complementary" to one another. The chipmaker has also encouraged developers to support both the Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 standards with any external peripherals. The 5Gbps transfer speeds of USB 3.0 are half as fast as the 10Gbps throughput of Thunderbolt.
Comments
Why does the symbol have to be the same as high voltage?
I must admit, the symbol certainly does not give the image of "the fastest way between two points is a straight line!"
Why does the symbol have to be the same as high voltage?
Goes with the name, I guess. Its an odd mix of power branding and marketing imo. But anyway, for me, the big issue is convenience. Less cable clutter. I want to see solutions which will make my desk look good and less like a plate of spagetti. Its getting better, slowly, but my monitor still has a big fat cable that goes to my MBP, with 3(!) connectors. It also has a big fat power cable and because I need the key pad - a usb cable to my keyboard. Oh, and a USB to my speakers. And a USB to my TM HD.
My dream would be one thin cable to my monitor. One thin cable to my MBP. Both these cables to an out of sight break-out box with power and legacy (inc usb) ports.
Why does the symbol have to be the same as high voltage?
technically, it's a lightning bolt.
with an arrow.
but anyway.
So Sony's gonna add another proprietary implementation to their list of memory stick duos, UMDs, etc, etc....
The chipmaker has also encouraged developers to support both the Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 standards with any external peripherals. The 5Gbps transfer speeds of USB 3.0 are half as fast as the 10Gbps throughput of Thunderbolt.
Sam, shouldn?t it read 20Gbps bandwidth for 10Gbps bi-directional compared to USB?s 5Gbps maximum bandwidth?
So Sony's gonna add another proprietary implementation to their list of memory stick duos, UMDs, etc, etc....
I don?t think it will be a big deal, at least not to us. Since it?s protocol independent and the USB port interface is ubiquotus it should be easy enough to connect to your Thunderbolt-capable peripherals with a simple adapter or cable from monoprice.com.
The USB-IF might have an issue with it, which is what I heard kept Intel from added it to the USB port interface thus having to go to Apple for an alternate solution.
Yeah they should just call it HSP (high-speed port). Thunderbolt sounds like something went wrong with cloud computing.
Nothing should have to be called anything. We should just be able to say, "Oh, just plug your [insert peripheral here] in and we'll [insert action relevant to aforementioned peripheral here].
Which is what Thunderbolt will do, except it has a name right now to differentiate from all other (read: legacy) ports.
IMHO, the trademark transfer has to do with making Thunderbolt more palatable to PC manufacturers. By removing Apple from the filing it makes it that much easier to pay the licensing fees. HP stated it wanted to stick with USB 3.0. Why? Because it's slower? No, b/c it doesn't want to pay a licensing fee to Apple (a competitor). Surprised Apple/Intel missed getting this right from the get-go...
You mean that licensing fee for the mini-DisplayPort style connector?
Yeah they should just call it HSP (high-speed port). Thunderbolt sounds like something went wrong with cloud computing.
Sam, shouldn?t it read 20Gbps bandwidth for 10Gbps bi-directional compared to USB?s 5Gbps maximum bandwidth?
YOU are correct sir!
And USB is "bursty" and that 5 Gbps is not guaranteed. So it requires low humidity, the right time of day, and the wind at your back.
>> And I think that Apple is giving INTEL the trademark -- because they REALLY want adoption of the standard -- rather than the limited adoption we saw with FireWire.
Should really cut down on all the equipment junk, and power adapters we all use.
I wonder if it will keep the same name when it switches to optical... just doesn't seem right if it does imo
Why? The port's identical. The spec is identical. They didn't call Ethernet anything different when it went optical. They don't call Wi-Fi anything different between 802.11a/b/g/n/ac.
technically, it's a lightning bolt.
with an arrow.
but anyway.
So Sony's gonna add another proprietary implementation to their list of memory stick duos, UMDs, etc, etc....
The funny thing about Sony is I don't think they ever set out to make proprietary technology. They are just so arrogant that they believe that they are creating the next "standard" and that everyone will adopt it simply because it is far superior. They have missed the mark almost every time since betamax but they keep trying hopping to have a winner. Kind of reminds me of Wile E. Coyote.
The funny thing about Sony is I don't think they ever set out to make proprietary technology.
I don't believe that for a second.
I DO believe that occasionally Apple sets out to HAVE proprietary technology, but then what they use works so freaking well that everyone adopts it and it becomes a standard.