Wi-Lan sues Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Charter

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Technology licensing firm Wi-Lan Inc said it has initiated a patent infringement litigation against Comcast Corp, Time Warner Cable Inc, and Charter Communications in a U.S. federal court.

The Canadian company alleged that the three U.S. companies continued to infringe its patent by offering to sell, operate, advertise and market cable systems and cable modems.

The case is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Wi-Lan said in a statement.

The company, which said its litigation expenses rose to C$7.0 million in the third quarter from C$4.3 million a year ago while announcing its third-quarter results, is also tied in other patent infringement cases against various other companies.

Last month, the company said it has initiated litigation against Alcatel-Lucent USA Inc, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications (USA) Inc, HTC Corp, Exedea Inc, LG Electronics Inc, LG Electronics Mobilecomm USA and LG Electronics USA Inc.

In August, Wi-Lan said it has settled all patent litigation with telecoms equipment maker UTStarcom Inc.

The Ottawa, Ontario-based company's shares, which have gained about 39 percent since August, closed at C$4.59 on Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Aftab Ahmed in Bangalore; Editing by Vyas Mohan)