Atheros may just pay wilan for what it owed "Wi-LAN said Atheros, which is set to be acquired by Qualcomm Inc, would make a series of payments in exchange for a multi-year license to the company's patent portfolio."
(https://www.ibtimes.com/wi-lan-settle-patent-litigation-atheros-450116)
Wilan will not make such a stupid mistake such as "patent exhaustion", in my view. There are somethings we do not know.
good luck