Canada/US: Defendants win battle against patent troll war in

Canada-based patent licensing firm, known as a ‘patent-troll,’ Wi-Lan lost its lawsuit against various technology giants after suing the defendants in 2010 for use of its data transmission patent; the loss was a major blow in the war against patent trolls that has heated up within the US in recent months. According to reports, Wi-Lan has filed several patent lawsuits, most notable in 2007 against 22 firms using its Wi-Fi patents and then in 2010 for patents concerning mobile phones as well as cable modems. The defendants in the mobile phone case – which included HTC, Sony, Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent – decided to stay the course in court. The jury’s ruling against Wi-Lan resulted in a loss of one-third the company’s stock value. The verdict, announced Monday, found that some of the patents were invalid because they were “obvious” or anticipated earlier by other companies; none of Wi-Lans’ patents were found to have been infringed in the case.

Full Content: Ars Technica

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