UK Bluetooth pioneer faces patent battle

Bluetooth pioneer Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) said today that it is confident there is "absolutely no merit" in a patent-infringement suit filed against three of its biggest customers.

The suit against Nokia, Samsung and Panasonic was brought by the Washington Research Foundation (WRF), which funds and helps commercialise the results of research in Washington State universities and labs.

Alan Woolhouse, vice-president of communications at CSR , was guarded about his comments on the case today and could not say if only his company's components are affected.

But he pointed out that some cases are launched with the aim of getting an out-of-court settlement, whatever the merits of the original claim. "That's how lawyers make their money," he said.

He also said some cases are prompted by commercial rivals, though he agreed that this could hardly be said of the non-profit WRF.

Members of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, which polices the technology, agree to licence relevant technology to each other without cost in a bid to avoid patent disputes.

The suit comes as news broke that a billion Bluetooth devices have been shipped globally – a majority of them from CSR.