OTTAWA - Technology firm Wi-Lan Inc. (TSX:WIN) says it has signed a letter of intent to settle a lawsuit filed by Telus Communications Inc. (TSX:T), which claimed ownership interests in several patents.
Wi-Lan said the suit filed by Telus involves two principle claims, one of which claimed an ownership interest over four patents collectively called channel estimation patents.
The second claim was for an ownership interest in two patents which Wi-Lan is asserting in litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
As part of the settlement, Telus has sold any rights it may have had in the patents to Wi-Lan.
Wi-Lan said it expects to complete the deal in a formal agreement within the next few weeks.
Last month Wi-Lan described the suit as "entirely without merit," saying it had received no prior notice from Telus and that it did not believe Telus had any interest in the patents.
But Telus said Monday it sent demand letters to Wi-Lan in November 2007 and again in April 2009, and served notice of the lawsuit in January after earlier negotiations failed.
Telus added that the issue involved six patents for technology that had been improperly transferred from TELUS to Wi-Lan, which was started by two former Telus employees.
Wi-Lan is a technology innovation and licensing company, which has licensed its intellectual property to companies that manufacture or sell a wide range of communication and consumer electronics products.
Shares in Wi-Lan were up nearly two per cent or five cents apiece to $2.72 Monday morning on the Toronto Stock Exchange.