Ottawa based firm, Wi-LAN Inc., reported on October 1 that it had spent $19 million to purchase over 150 patents and patent applications from Israeli business, Alvarion. The portfolio that WiLAN acquired from the Tel Aviv based company has a “broad applicability to 4G infrastructure and handsets.” Wi-Lan also added that the patents have global applications and the technology they cover will be used around the world. This increases the scope of both licensing and new customer acquisition.
Alvarion provides wireless broadband solutions and Wi-LAN CEO Jim Skippen discussed the Isreali firm’s business by stating that, “Alvarion is one of the world’s top suppliers of WiMAX, 4G and LTE systems. It has patented a number of key inventions we believe have relevance to both WiMAX and LTE.”
The Canadian patent licensor has created a business out of acquiring the patents of other firms at a discount and then using these patents to generate revenue. In most cases the income is created from licensing agreements with other businesses. Wi-Lan may also use legal actions to stop others from utilizing their intellectual property illegally, making patents increasingly valuable as the world experiences deeper mobile and technology integration.
Wi-LAN is a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Recently, share holders got some bad news announced a net loss of $100,000 for the most recent quarter (TQ was on it). The company attributed the loss of less than a cent a share on costly litigation expenses and a slowdown in revenue generation.
Source: Ottawa Business Journal
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