Quakester2000 used our news submit to tell us
that a Japanese gentleman retired from Hitachi, has taken his former employer to
court. It seems Seiji Yonezawa was responsible
for key technology in the creation of optical disk hardware. In hindsite, he
felt that he was shortchanged for his accomplishments. The courts agreed. Mr.
Yonezawa's attorney was pleased as well.
 A Japanese inventor has won the country"s highest patent compensation award after suing his ex-employer, tech-firm Hitachi. The Tokyo High Court ruled that Seiji Yonezawa had not been paid enough for his work on technology that was a forerunner to DVD. The court awarded Mr Yonezawa 162m yen ($ 1.5m; £837,000) for his work on three optical disc technology patents. Hitachi had originally paid Mr Yonezawa 2.3m yen in compensation.
Mr Yonezawa"s lawyer
celebrated the ruling, saying it would inspire children to take an
interest in science. According to local press reports, lawyer Hidetoshi
Masunaga said his client was now a millionaire "like football and baseball
players". "This will have a significant impact on grade school children.
This ruling changes the Japanese view that becoming a company president is
the only successful goal of a career," Mr Masunaga was quoted as saying.
Hitachi was less pleased. The firm said it was considering an appeal and
believed its rulebook on compensation was in line with other firms.
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To have been key in the creation of such a concept,
it is amazing that this man is not very well known. It is also interesting to
know that the patents were granted in the mid 70's. As for his attorney, I hope
that this court case is not what inspires young minds, but the possibility
of creating a new exciting technology instead.
Source: BBC News
