Attorneys from McKool Smith successfully represented Ottawa, Canada-based WiLAN Inc. in a series of closely watched patent infringement lawsuits that were resolved following jury selection on the eve of a scheduled February trial through settlement and license agreements with many of the world’s leading technology providers.
McKool Smith filed claims on behalf of WiLAN in 2007 and 2008 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, including WiLAN Inc. v. Acer Inc., et al., No. 2:07-cv-473; WiLAN Inc. v. Westell Technologies Inc., et al., No. 2:07-cv-474; and WiLAN Inc. v. Motorola, Inc., et al., No. 2:08-cv-247. The suits were based on claims that defendants Intel, Broadcom, Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, LG Electronics, and Motorola, among others, infringed WiLAN patents covering Wideband Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (“Wideband OFDM”) and other wireless technologies used in WiFi, CDMA, and Bluetooth devices. WiLAN patents in the Texas cases before the Hon. T. John Ward included U.S. Patent Nos. 5,282,222; RE37,802; 5,956,323; and 6,549,759.
The Texas settlements also resolved a declaratory judgment action brought by Intel in 2008 against WiLAN in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California before the Hon. James Ware, Intel Corp. v. WiLAN Inc., No. 5:08-cv-4555. The California litigation involved WiLAN patents relating to WiMAX technology, including U.S. Patent Nos. 6,459,687; 6,577,863; 6,683,866; 6,693,887; 6,728,514; 6,804,211; 6,925,068; 6,944,188; 6,956,834; 6,963,617; 7,006,530; 7,023,798; 7,177,598; 7,197,022; 7,289,467; 7,317,704; and 7,379,441.
WiLAN announced in a financial guidance statement issued February 10, 2011 that its license agreements from the recent settlements will generate “hundreds of millions of dollars,” and that the company expects record revenues and earnings.
“Our firm is proud to represent WiLAN in protecting its intellectual property, including the invention of Wideband OFDM — an invention conceived in the early 1990s by WiLAN co-founders Hatim Zaghloul and Michel Fattouche,” says Robert A. Cote, lead counsel for WiLAN and managing principal of McKool Smith’s New York office. “Wideband OFDM—the wireless data communication technology behind all existing and future wireless devices—is a shining example of extraordinary innovation that touches people’s lives around the world every day.”
In addition to Mr. Cote, WiLAN was represented by McKool Smith Dallas principals Sam Baxter and Darryl Burke; Washington, D.C., principals Dirk Thomas and Michael McManus; and Austin principal Kevin Burgess.
With more than 130 litigators across offices in New York, Texas, and Washington, D.C., McKool Smith has established a reputation as one of America’s leading trial firms. In each of the last two years, the firm has been recognized in The National Law Journal for winning more of the Top 100 Verdicts than any other law firm in the country. The firm represents leading clients across a broad range of practice areas, including complex commercial litigation, intellectual property, bankruptcy, and white collar defense.
