Wi-Fi Recognition

The term Wi-Fi, first used commercially in August 1999, coined by Interbrand Corporation that was hired by the The Wi-Fi Alliance to determine a name that was somewhat catchier than IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence. Interbrand Corporation invented Wi-Fi as a play on words with Hi-Fi, and also created the yin yang-style Wi-Fi logo.

The original patents behind 802.11 Wi-Fi technology, filed in 1996, are held by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), an Australian research body. The patents have been the subject of extended and ongoing legal battles between the CSIRO and major IT corporations over the non-payment of royalties. In 2009 the CSIRO reached a settlement with 14 companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Dell, Toshiba, ASUS, Microsoft and Nintendo, on the condition that the CSIRO did not broadcast the resolution.