Law360, New York (May 19, 2014, 3:26 PM ET) -- Amazon Inc., Google Inc. and two others were sued Friday by a unit of patent licensing company Wi-LAN Inc. over allegations that the companies sold devices such as the Kindle and the Nexus tablets that lifted patented network communication technology.

Open Network Solutions Inc. has accused Amazon and Google, along with Microsoft Corp. and Canon Inc., of selling numerous products that directly and indirectly infringe Open Network's patented technology, in violation of U.S. Patent Numbers 6,745,259and 6,907,476.

“Despite knowledge of the patent and its infringement, [the companies] continue to manufacture, make, offer for sale and sell goods that violate the patent,” the complaint said. “[They have] caused and will continue to cause Open Network Solutions damage by virtue of [the] continuing infringement.”

The '259 and '476 patents each detail systems that permit nonstandard devices to obtain and process protocol statements from an Amazon server over an open network, according to the complaint.

The devices covered by the patents may include any communications device other than desktop or laptop computers that can be coupled with a network, such as a home network, to access content and exchange information over the Internet with an outside server, the complaint said.

The products offered by Amazon that allegedly flouted the two patents are the Kindle Fire HD, the Kindle Fire HDX, the Kindle Fire HDX8.9 and the Amazon Fire TV, according to the complaint. Microsoft is accused of selling the Xbox One and Xbox 360, which utilize a “Play To” feature that allegedly flouts the two patents, the complaint said.

Additionally, Google manufactured and sold devices such as the Nexus 5, the Nexus 7 and the Chromecast, which each violated Open Network's two patents, according to the complaint. Canon is accused of violating the patents through the sale of its EOS 70D digital camera, as well as about a half-dozen models of Digital Living Network Alliance-supported wireless file transmitters and video cameras, the complaint says.

Open Network sent all four companies a letter in May to notify them of the alleged infringement, but each company continued selling its products and encouraged customers to operate the products in an infringing manner, according to the complaint.

The suit seeks a judgment of willful and induced infringement, damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, and attorneys' fees.

The '259 and '476 patents were issued in June 2004 and June 2005, respectively. The patents survived re-examination proceedings from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which ended in February for the '259 patent and in April for the '476 patent, according to court documents.

Originally assigned to Datascape Inc., the patents were transferred to Open Network on April 15, according to the complaint. The ’259 and ’476 patents and the patent family from which they are members have been asserted against more than 40 companies in patent infringement actions that have resulted in millions of dollars in settlements, according to Open Network.

Spokespersons for both Google and Microsoft each declined to comment Monday. An attorney for Open Network, as well as representatives for Amazon and Canon, were not immediately available for comment.

The patents-in-suit are U.S. Patent Numbers 6,745,259 and 6,907,476.

Open Network is represented by David W. deBruin of The deBruin Firm LLC.

Counsel information for the defendants was not immediately available.

The cases are Open Network Solutions Inc. v. Amazon Inc., case number 1:14-cv-00618; Open Network Solutions Inc. v. Google Inc., case number 1:14-cv-00620; Open Network Solutions Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., case number 1:14-cv-00621; and Open Network Solutions Inc. v. Canon Inc., case number 1:14-cv-00619, all in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

--Editing by Elizabeth Bowen.
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