Peter Vogel (born 30 August 1954 in Sydney) is an Australian

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 ...

and technologist known for developing the

Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, music sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commerc ...

Career

Vogel has worked in the electronics industry since graduating from

Cranbrook School, Sydney Cranbrook School is an Independent school, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican day school, day and boarding school, boarding school, with multiple campuses in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), eastern suburbs New South Wales, Aus ...

in 1972. His first major achievement was the development of the world's first commercial sound sampling electronic musical instrument, the

. Along with his school friend Kim Ryrie, Vogel was co-founder of Fairlight, the company that made the CMI from 1975 to 1999. Along with Tony Furse of Creative Strategies, the two were awarded the CSIRO Medal in 1987. In 1982, he designed a medical emergency response device called Vitalcall. As of 2014, he returned to this field as chief technology officer of Vitalcare, an Australian medical alarm service for the aged. In 1988 Vogel started Right Hemisphere Pty Ltd. This took him from the field of sound and vision processing to the wider realm of computers and communications. Around the time of starting Right Hemisphere, Vogel filed a number of patents for inventions in the television field, including an on-screen program guide. His inventions included a device for removing commercials from TV recordings, which decades later brought him into conflict with certain television broadcasters. In 2003, Vogel closed down Right Hemisphere to concentrate on developing IceTV. IceTV provided Australia's first subscription-based electronic program guide for television, offering a

TiVo TiVo ( ) is a digital video recorder (DVR) developed and marketed by Xperi (previously by TiVo Corporation and TiVo Inc.) and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose fea ...

-like service including the ability to remotely instruct digital video recorders, to record content using mobile phones and web browsers. In 2006, IceTV was sued by the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

who alleged that IceTV's electronic program guide (EPG) breached their copyright. The financial damage caused by the lawsuit resulted in Vogel losing his job as Chief Technical Officer of IceTV. He left IceTV in October 2006, and with three other professionals with expertise in technology, media and commerce, started a new consultancy, Vogel Ross Pty Limited. The ''Nine Network vs IceTV'' case was heard before the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

, which in 2009 ruled in IceTV's favour. The decision was described in some legal circles as a significant landmark in Australian copyright law. After re-establishing Fairlight Instruments in August 2009 and releasing the CMI-30A, the 30th anniversary model of the Fairlight CMI, and Fairlight iOS apps for the Apple iPhone and iPad, Vogel renamed Fairlight Instruments to Peter Vogel Instruments in July 2012. When announcing the name change, the company indicated a new range of synthesisers was being developed. As of 2017, however, visitors to the Vogel website are greeted with an advisory that the new CMI is currently not for sale due to litigation from the former owners of the Fairlight trademark, Fairlight.au Pty Ltd. Peter Vogel Instruments had contracted Fairlight.au to develop the software for the CMI-30A and licensed the Fairlight trademark. In 2012, Fairlight.au sued Peter Vogel Instruments in the Federal Court of Australia, claiming that PVI had infringed Fairlight.au's trademark because the licence only allowed the trademark to be used for the CMI-30A hardware, not for the iOS app. Peter Vogel Instruments cross-claimed against Fairlight.au for breach of contract and copyright infringement. The dispute was finalised on appeal to the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...

in 2016. Fairlight.au was subsequently ordered to pay PVI damages and as at September 2019 this award is subject to appeal.

References

External links

* Peter Vogel's personal homepag
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* Shor
Peter Vogel Interview(Full interview)
NAMM Oral History Library (2017) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vogel, Peter 1954 births 20th-century Australian inventors Computer designers Living people Australian musical instrument makers People educated at Cranbrook School, Sydney Australian people of German descent