Viva good old Panasonic. Hopefully this will prove to be only one of mucho.

By The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - Panasonic Corp. has signed a multi-year agreement for Wi-LAN's digital TV and display patent portfolio, including the patent licensing firm's V-chip technology.

Ottawa-based Wi-LAN (TSX:WIN.TO - News) did not disclose financial and other terms of the agreement in making the announcement Monday.

"We are very pleased that Panasonic, with one of the world's top selling TV brands, has taken a broad licence to our digital TV and display patent portfolio," Wi-LAN president and CEO Jim Skippen said in a statement.

"As part of Wi-LAN's long-term strategy, we undertook a deliberate multi-year exercise to increase the size and coverage of our portfolio of patented inventions covering digital TV and display technologies."

The portfolio now includes more than 1,400 issued and pending patents covering various technologies including V-chip parental control, display conversion and closed-captioning technologies.

WiLAN has licensed its intellectual property to more than 260 companies worldwide that manufacture or sell a wide range of communication and consumer electronics products.