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WiLAN Subsidiaries Enter into License Agreements with Nanya Technology
OTTAWA, Canada – January 23, 2017 – WiLAN (TSX:WIN) (NASD:WILN) today announced that the Company’s subsidiaries, North Star Innovations, Inc. and PLL Technologies, Inc., have entered into patent license agreements with Nanya Technology Corporation.
Nanya Technology is a leading memory solution provider for products embedded with consumer memory and low power memory and ranks among the top five global suppliers of dynamic random-access memory (“DRAM”).
The consideration to be paid to WiLAN and all other terms of the license agreements are confidential.
WiLAN Provides Litigation Update
Court of Appeals grants WiLAN positive rulings in case against Ericsson
OTTAWA, CANADA -- (Marketwired) -- 01/18/17 -- WiLAN (TSX:WIN) (NASDAQ:WILN) today announced an update on litigation against Ericsson, Inc. ("Ericsson") concerning WiLAN's U.S. Patent Nos. 8,229,437, 8,027,298 and 8,249,014 related to LTE technologies.
In a decision released yesterday the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the Florida District Court's negative rulings on the three patents at issue and found that the 8,229,437 patent should not have been found invalid and the 8,027,298 and 8,249,014 patents should not have been found non-infringed because there are material disputes of fact.
The Court of Appeals also affirmed the Florida District Court's ruling that Ericsson was not entitled to most favoured licensee treatment on the three patents at issue based on a 2007 Agreement between WiLAN and Ericsson.
This updates a press release dated May 22, 2015, in which WiLAN announced that the Florida District Court had granted Ericsson's motion for summary judgment on the three patents at issue.
"We are pleased with the Court of Appeals ruling, which paves the way for a trial to begin against Ericsson," said Jim Skippen, CEO of WiLAN.
WiLAN was represented by Matthew Powers of Tensegrity Law Group LLP in the appeal.
WiLAN has stepped up its campaign against the growing personal digital assistant market filing six lawsuits before and after Christmas against a series of big tech companies including Amazon and HTC over patents that underpin Siri, the popular electronic assistant on Apple devices. The most recent case was filed on Tuesday against ZTE in district court in Delaware, bringing the total number of suits that the NPE’s subsidiary IPA Technologies has filed in this campaign to 11.
WiLAN acquired the patents in question in two tranches, including a package of nine grants in May 2016, from SRI International, a non-profit research institute which spun out of Stanford University more than 40 years ago. SRI began developing the technology for a voice-controlled electronic assistant following a grant from the US Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), eventually setting up Siri Inc which was spun out as an independent entity in 2007 and was then bought by Apple in 2010.
At the time of the spinout Siri received a non-exclusive licence to the relevant patent portfolio from SRI. So while Apple has continued to develop Siri-related technology it does not own the original patents. According to WiLAN’s court filings, “SRI’s work on personal digital assistants was a key area of development in one of the world’s largest artificial intelligence projects”.
The Canadian company launched its campaign in October last year with suits against Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP and Toshiba all of which settled within weeks. Shortly before Christmas it filed a case over the infringement of three patents against Amazon whose personal digital assistant Alexa has become one of the leaders in the sector. The online retail giant’s Echo has been one of the most successful smart speakers with Amazon selling more than five million over the last two years (it costs around $180).
That would suggest that WiLAN, should it win its suit, is in line for a large licensing payout. The NPE has a reputation for pushing for a settlement over pursuing lengthy litigation in the hopes of a blockbuster payout, but with such high stakes over one of its flagship products, Amazon may opt for a drawn out court battle.
The proliferation of devices like Amazon’s Echo, driven by sophisticated artificial intelligence technology, opens up another possible licensing revenue stream for patent owners which looks set to grow with the advent of the Internet of Things. As NPEs look to add to their patent portfolios and search for potential new licensees, WiLAN’s latest campaign could be a sign of things to come.
WiLAN in the News - WiLAN ramps up litigation over Siri patents with Amazon among the targets (IAM Magazine)
WiLAN was recently featured in an article by Richard Lloyd of Intellectual Asset Management (IAM).
Mr. Lloyd's article can be accessed by clicking on the link provided below.
http://www.iam-media.com/blog/Detail.aspx?g=8c46befc-cd3b-4ed3-88d1-f0da14269abb
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Investor Relations
WiLAN and Funai Enter License Agreement
OTTAWA, Canada – December 29, 2016 – WiLAN (TSX:WIN) (NASD:WILN) today announced that the Company and Funai Electric Co., Ltd. (“Funai”) have entered into a multi-year license agreement.
“We are very pleased to have signed a license agreement with major Japanese television manufacturer Funai,” said Jim Skippen, President & CEO, WiLAN. “Funai is a manufacturer of consumer products and ranks among the top five television suppliers to the United States, with brands such as Magnavox, Sanyo, and Emerson. This agreement was achieved without having to undertake litigation.”
The consideration to be paid to WiLAN and all other terms of the license agreement are confidential.
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