Patent holding company Wi-LAN has filed a lawsuit against Apple and several other companies over claims that they are infringing on Wi-Fi, CDMA and HSPA-related patents it holds. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas — a court favorited by patent holders for its tendency to rule in their favor.
According to Wi-LAN’s filing, the companies are infringing on patents 5,282,222, related to Wi-Fi and LTE technologies, and RE37,802, related to CDMA and HSPA technologies.
Along with Apple, the patent holder named Alcatel-Lucent USA, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, HTC America, Kyocera International and Kyocera Communications, Novatel Wireless, and Sierra Wireless America in its lawsuit.
This isn’t the first time Wi-LAN has targeted Apple with a patent infringement lawsuit. In April 2010, the company hit Apple with a suit alleging its use of Bluetooth technology in the iPhone and Mac computers infringed on a patent it holds.
That case, just like this new one, was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The company will be represented by McKool Smith, the same law firm that’s representing it in the Bluetooth patent case.
Wi-LAN calls itself “a leading technology innovation and licensing company,” and manages a patent portfolio with over 1,400 patents, many of which it purchased from other companies.
The company didn’t reveal what it wants out of the case, but considering Wi-LAN’s long history of suing companies over patents, it’s a safe bet it is looking for a big cash settlement.