infoTECH Feature

July 10, 2014

Wheelings and Dealings: WiLAN Acquires Patents from Memory Company

WiLAN will acquire a portfolio of patents used in electronic devices,  which will be owned by a WiLAN subsidiary who will license them.

"We are very excited to have entered into an agreement with a global leader in non-volatile memory,” Jim Skippen, president & CEO of WiLAN, said in a statement. “We believe this portfolio contains many valuable patents covering various aspects of non-volatile memory and are optimistic that licensing this acquired portfolio will become an important contributor to the growth of our business.”

He said the company will continue to add patent portfolios in new areas and markets. Adding patents in a promising tech area can lead to financial success in the future. The company limited releasing a lot of details on the deal.

In a related matter, Sensio Technologies has announced a licensing agreement between WiLAN and some of its subsidiaries and Sony Corporation, and includes rights granted to Sony under patents covering its Sensio S2D Switch.

"The Sony agreement marks the second license granted by WiLAN under our partnership,” Nicholas Routhier, president and CEO of Sensio, said in a statement. "We are optimistic about more licensees joining in the future," he added. In 2012, WiLAN got rights to license Sensio patents on 3D technology. The S2D Switch lets users switch viewing of a 3D video feed from 3D to 2D.

Wi-LAN also has announced that it and Nokia (News - Alert) Networks signed a patent license agreement. Nokia Networks gets the license to a portfolio of wireless patents, under the deal. It was in 2006 that WiLAN first signed a patent license agreement with Nokia. Patents under the new agreement with Nokia relate to CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, HSPA and 4G/LTE (News - Alert) technology.

In addition, WiLAN will acquire a portfolio from Nokia Networks covering wireless handset and infrastructure technology. "We are very pleased to have negotiated this license with Nokia Networks," Skippen said in a statement. "It underscores the value of the technologies that we have added to our portfolio of wireless patents." Skippen added that the acquired patents “will add significant value to our wireless portfolio and we believe will aid in the signing of future licenses," according to a statement carried by Light Reading.

Overall, WiLAN has licensed its intellectual property to over 280 companies. It covers 3G and 4G handsets, Wi-Fi-enabled laptops, Wi-Fi and broadband routers, xDSL infrastructure equipment, cellular base stations and digital TV receivers.




Edited by Adam Brandt
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