Non-practicing patent licensing entity WiLan announced yesterday that it has been awarded by a Southern California jury $145.1 million in an ongoing patent dispute with Apple related to wireless communications technology.
The filing accuses Apple of infringement upon WiLAN’s US patent Nos 8,457,145 and 8,537,757 relating to wireless communications technology, one for a “Method and apparatus for bandwidth request/grant protocols in a wireless communication system” and the other for “Adaptive call admission control for use in a wireless communication system.”
Reuters reported that the jury in San Diego determined that certain iPhone models infringed the two WiLan patents. Apple has rejected claims of infringement that WiLan leveled against it in its motion and said it was planning to appeal the verdict.
WiLan in 2010 accused Apple of violating its patents related to Bluetooth technology. They sought a cool $248 million in damages from Apple, but a jury rejected their filing in 2013.
Founded in 1992 as a producer of broadband wireless technologies, Canada-based WiLan s shifted focus to licensing an extensive patent portfolio. It’s basically become a patent holding firm that helps companies “unlock the value of intellectual property by managing and licensing their patent portfolios,” according to the boilerplate text.