WiLAN Inc. (TSX: WIN) was once a fairly obscure and small Ottawa, Canada-based technology company that had all but disappeared in the early part of the last decade (previously it was known as Metricom). It has maintained a portfolio of nearly 800 patents, with a few key patents such as the ones related to Bluetooth technology now returning to haunt the telecommunications and software industries and igniting the second coming of this company.

On September 2, WiLAN announced its 100th license agreement for wireless technologies with Lorex Technology Inc.[1] This was the latest agreement to come after WiLAN launched a series of patent infringement suits this past decade which have resulted primarily in settlement through license arrangements. Lorex joins corporations such as Samsung, Research in Motion, Sharp, Nokia, Panasonic and Fujitsu as a licensee of WiLAN's patented technologies.

Significant to these license arrangements is that WiLAN has provided its licensees with substantial "Freedom to Operate" under WiLAN's intellectual property to develop and compete in desirable markets. Freedom to Operate serves an important part of an intellectual property portfolio -- it comprises present and future access to markets for goods and services without legal liabilities to third parties, in this case it would be WiLAN as a patent holder.

[1] It is important to note that in all, WiLAN licenses its patented technologies covering a wide variety of telecommunications and software to over 200 corporations.

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