Anders Håkan Lans (born 2 November 1947 in Enskede) is a Swedish

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

. He holds two

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

s: * a

memory controller The memory controller is a digital circuit that manages the flow of data going to and from the computer's main memory. A memory controller can be a separate chip or integrated into another chip, such as being placed on the same die or as an int ...

for a

framebuffer A framebuffer (frame buffer, or sometimes framestore) is a portion of random-access memory (RAM) containing a bitmap that drives a video display. It is a memory buffer containing data representing all the pixels in a complete video frame. Mode ...

: "Data processing system and apparatus for color graphics display". Framebuffer with memory controllers had been in common use for years at the time of this 1979 patent filing. * a calligraphic display "Arrangement for producing a pattern on a light-sensitive surface"

STDMA

Håkan Lans is the designer of a tracking system which makes use of a Self-Organized Time Division Multiple Access (STDMA) datalink. The STDMA datalink is currently in use in Automatic Identification System (AIS). AIS is a short range coastal tracking system which is mandatory aboard international voyaging ships with

gross tonnage Gross tonnage (GT, G.T. or gt) is a nonlinear measure of a ship's overall internal volume. Gross tonnage is different from gross register tonnage. Neither gross tonnage nor gross register tonnage should be confused with measures of mass or weig ...

(GT) of 300 or more tons, and all passenger ships regardless of size. STDMA is also in use as one of the three physical layer models proposed for

Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast Automatic may refer to: Music Bands * Automatic (band), Australian rock band * Automatic (American band), American rock band * The Automatic, a Welsh alternative rock band Albums * ''Automatic'' (Jack Bruce album), a 1983 electronic rock ...

(ADS-B), a cooperative surveillance technique for air traffic control which is in the process of implementation. Lans has his own company, GP&C Systems International AB, which is focused on marketing STDMA.

Legal disputes

Concerning the patent on the framebuffer controller, in 1997 Lans as an individual sued several companies, including

Compaq Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...

, Gateway and

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, for not paying royalties, and allegedly infringing on his patent. The defendants counterclaimed that the patent was assigned to Uniboard AB, a company wholly owned by Lans. The judge ruled that this was the case and thus Lans lost the case. This has led to a dispute between Lans and his attorneys, who Lans has sued for misconduct. This suit was settled in April 2012. An allegation was presented on Swedish National Television that an attorney's conduct was due to alleged connections with

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

, in order to stop Lans' progress on his STDMA patent. Another debate is regarding STDMA. There was a patent application for the system, but a

US patent Under United States law, a patent is a right granted to the inventor of a (1) process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, (2) that is new, useful, and non-obvious. A patent is the right to exclude others, for a limited ...

ex-parte reexamination certificate was issued in 2010 canceling all claims.

USPTO The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...

ex-parte reexamination certificate (7428th), issued on March 30, 2010

References

External links

*
GP&C Systems International AB

The story as told from Lans side
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lans, Hakan 1947 births Living people 20th-century Swedish inventors

STDMA

Legal disputes

See also

References

External links