Top Defense Results: Wi-Lan Inc. et al. v. Apple Inc.

Attorneys at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP saved Apple Inc. from a trial that could have cost the company more than $70 million by convincing a judge its iPhones and iPads did not infringe a licensing company's patents.

Wi-Lan Inc. filed suit claiming that Apple infringed patents to technology in its popular mobile devices that allows users to do things such as share photos.

Several other companies, including many of Apple's competitors, had purchased licenses to use Wi-Lan's patents, according to court documents. Apple refused.

"Since 2006, Wi-LAN has been in the business of acquiring and asserting patents," wrote attorneys for Apple in court documents. "Wi-LAN's business model revolves around asserting its patents against technology companies to extract licensing fees. Wi-LAN has used this approach on over 280 companies."

The complaint was initially filed in the Southern District of Florida, though Milbank attorneys were able to file a quick motion and get the case transferred to the Southern District of California.

They argued that Wi-Lan's patents described a system that prioritizes and distributes bandwidth to multiple users, while Apple's products only have one user. U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw agreed, citing Wi-Lan's own expert report as evidence supporting Apple's argument and granted a defense motion for summary judgment. Wi-Lan Inc. et al. v. Apple Inc., 14-CV01507 (S.D. Cal, filed June 23, 2014).

Mark C. Scarsi, the lead attorney representing Apple, declined to comment.

The plaintiff's lead attorneys were Dirk D. Thomas and Robert A. Cote, both principals with McKool Smith PC. Neither could not be reached for comment.

- MELANIE BRISBON