Canadian patent house Wi-LAN Inc. has launched a court challenge against several of the world's high-tech heavyweights, alleging they have infringed on one of its U.S. patents with their Bluetooth products.
Apple Inc. , Dell Inc. , Hewlett-Packard Co. , Intel Corp. , Motorola Inc. , Sony Corp. and Texas Instruments Inc. are among the defendants..
Ottawa-based Wi-LAN has yet to prove its case in court. Such challenges are common in the technology industry and often hundreds of millions of dollars can be at stake.
Wi-LAN alleges the companies are violating a U.S. patent by selling products such as cellphones and laptops that contain Bluetooth technology, which is used widely for short-range wireless communications.
For instance, Bluetooth technology may be used to connect a person's headset to a cellphone to allow for hands-free talking.
Wi-LAN is a relatively small company that specializes in managing a portfolio of patents and collecting license fees from equipment makers that use the technology in their products.