Ottawa-based Wi-LAN entered trial proceedings against Apple on October 15, 2013, alleging the company had infringed on its U.S Patent No. RE37,802, related to CDMA and HSPA technologies.
Six defendants Wi-LAN sued, including Alcatel-Lucent USA Inc., Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company, HTC Corporation, Novatel Wireless, Inc. and Sierra Wireless Inc., all settled for license and settlement agreements. Except for Apple.
Last December, Wi-LAN USA sued Apple over allegations the use of LTE in the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 infringed on its patents.
Wi-LAN was established in 1992 to develop technology for high speed wireless networking, which was eventually commercialized and licensed by companies around the world.
In 2006, the company shifted its business to focus on protecting and monetizing patented inventions, making money from licenses others pay to use patents from Wi-LAN’s portfolio. It has pursued and successfully defended its patents against major tech companies such as Samsung, BlackBerry and HTC.