Patent company takes on Wi-Fi industry

02 Nov 2007 10:00

Canadian 'technology licensing' firm Wi-LAN wants to take 22 of the biggest names in wireless networking to court over alleged patent infringement

A "technology licensing" company called Wi-LAN has sued 22 of the biggest names in wireless networking over alleged patent infringements.

The firm, based in Ottowa, Canada, is suing over patents 5,282,222, RE37,802 and 5,956,323, which apparently cover aspects of Wi-Fi and power consumption.

The companies being sued include — among others — Acer, Apple, Belkin, Broadcom, Dell, D-Link, HP, Intel, Lenovo, Netgear, Sony, Texas Instruments and Toshiba.

"Wi-LAN has successfully negotiated patent licensing deals with a number of companies covering a broad range of patent families and technologies," said Wi-LAN president Jim Skippen on Thursday. "Our existing licensing agreements are a strong endorsement of the strength and validity of our valuable patent portfolio. While we prefer to resolve patent infringement through business discussions, we have consistently maintained that litigation was always a possibility when negotiations do not result in a licence within a reasonable time."

The suit was filed in the Eastern District of Texas — the same district in which the Australian science organisation CSIRO is suing various companies over Wi-Fi patents.

According to Wi-LAN, the company has already signed a licensing deal with the manufacturer Fujitsu for the use of Wi-LAN's entire portfolio. This portfolio allegedly includes over 220 patents, covering technologies ranging from CDMA and DSL to Wi-Fi and WiMax.

Story URL: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,1000000085,39290525,00.htm