SAN FRANCISCO -- Via Licensing Corporation today announced a call for patents that are essential to the practice of Power over Ethernet (PoE).

PoE technology enables a system to transfer electrical power along with data to a wide range of remote devices, including IP telephones, wireless LAN access points, network cameras, network switches, embedded computers, and other devices. PoE uses standard twisted-pair cable on an Ethernet network to deliver power in situations where it is impractical or expensive to use a separate power source.

“Power over Ethernet is a significant innovation that can lower the cost of power installation and maintenance for systems and devices,” said Jean-Michel Bourdon, President of Via Licensing. “By providing a licensing program that offers fair and convenient access to essential patents, we can help the industry furnish new applications and devices that deliver all the benefits of this technology.”

Via Licensing is issuing this patent call for the purpose of identifying the owners of patents that are determined to be essential to the practice of the IEEE 802.3af standard and IEEE P802.3at draft standard. A patent is essential if it contains at least one independent claim that is necessarily infringed by the implementation or use of the standard.

Owners of patents with potential patent claims based on the IEEE P802.3at draft standard can submit patents for preliminary evaluation, but can only be confirmed as members of the licensing program if and when the standard is approved by the IEEE-SA Standards Board.

Via Licensing Corp.