RE:WiLAN Smart TV LitigationThis sounds like it may have been the kind of thing IP Watchdog had in mind when they endorsed the view that taking IP questions to the Federal Circuit is a kind of lottery.
I guess the lawyers will know if this is worth the trouble of approaching the highest court in the land. My guess is that this one isn't.
Here's a thought. WiLAN should push back on attempts to characterize it as an NPE. It's one subsidiary of a holding company that has tech operations that surely have tech overlap with the WiLAN patent portfolio. Suppose Microsoft tries to enforce the rights of a patent that is not currently being "used" by Microsoft and that happens to be held by a Microsoft subsidiary that has no operations. Does that make it an NPE? No one would take such a claim seriously.
This could be seen as a reason to restructure Quarterhill with IRD at the top. From what I understand, it's an open secret that the US courts don't like NPEs. If we could credibly approach the courts as an operating company that happens to hold patents, not all of which are currently being "used" in their operations, it could possibly strengthen the company's hand.