Apple Scores Victory In Wi-Lan Patent Infringement Case

Apple has been on the receiving end of a patent infringement from Wi-Lan Inc., which alleged that Apple had infringed upon a patent related to wireless technology via its iPhone handsets. Wi-Lan had sought $248 million from Apple in addition to a cut of each sale, and has told Bloomberg that in light of the ruling it is reviewing its options.

Wi-Lan had sought revenue based on each iPhone sale, while Apple stated that it used Qualcomm chips in its handset and Wi-Lan technology isn't used by the manufacturer. This marks a big loss for Wi-Lan, which has recently struck patent agreements with HP, HTC, and Novatel Wireless, and also has agreements with Samsung that were struck this past summer. It has lost in cases against Ericsson and Alcatel, however.

The ruling came from a federal jury that reportedly deliberated for about an hour before nixing the patent infringement claims and the allegation of infringing upon the wireless networking technology. Though Apple hasn't commented on the ruling, Wi-Lan stated that the company "does not believe previous license agreements signed related to the patents are negatively impacted by this decision."

According to Bloomberg, Wi-Lan is reliant on royalty payments and has seen a loss of more than $760,000 on revenue of $19.9 million as of the second quarter of the year. Most of its yearly expenses come from legal fees, and Apple would have represented a very hefty sum for the company, helping it regain its financial footing.

SOURCE: Bloomberg