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Quarterhill Inc.
Company typePublic
IndustryPatent monetization
Founded1992
FounderHatim Zaghloul
Michel Fattouche
Headquarters
Ottawa, Ontario
,
Canada
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jim Skippen, President and CEO
Michael B. Vladescu, COO
Shaun McEwan, CFO
ProductsBluetooth, LTE, WiMAX,
WiFi, CDMA, DOCSIS
SubsidiariesGladios IP
Cygnus Broadband
Websitewilan.com

Quarterhill (formerly known as WiLAN) is a technology development and intellectual property licensing company with headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.[1] Quarterhill licenses patent portfolios that it owns and also partners with owners of patent portfolios, mostly through its subsidiary WiLAN Inc. WiLAN Labs conducts ongoing research and development into advanced wireless communication systems.

History

In 1992, Hatim Zaghloul and Michel Fattouche co-founded WiLAN[2] after they developed together the Wideband Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (WOFDM),[3][non-primary source needed] and Multi-code Direct-sequence Spread Spectrum (MCDSSS).[4][non-primary source needed] Through WiLAN's efforts, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has allowed OFDM technology over the 2.4 GHz unlicensed ISM band for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards. MC-DSSS (MultiCode-Direct-sequence Spread Spectrum) is central to high speed CDMA applications, the main technology currently used by many cellphone networks.

In March 1998, WiLAN had its initial public offering.[5]

In November 1999, WiLAN and Philips invited companies to attend a meeting to form an alliance to promote the OFDM technology and its applications.[6] WiLAN was a founding member of the WiMAX Forum together with Ensemble, CossSpan, Harris, and Nokia.

From its founding in 1992 to 2000, WiLAN had success as interest and investment in the tech industry grew. However, in 2000, when the world's first tech bubble collapsed, WiLAN's fortunes changed. At the start of 2000, WiLAN's share price was at $80. By the end of that year, WiLAN's share price had dropped by 90 per cent. [7]

Refocusing business in 2006

2006 was a landmark year for WiLAN. It was in 2006 when WiLAN chose to fundamentally change their business model. Instead of focusing on research and development and trying to commercialize its patent technology, in 2006 WiLAN divested its various technology product lines to refocus its business on licensing intellectual property and patent rights.

Moving forward, WiLAN's company goals would center around licensing its own technology patents to third-party companies, as well as licensing patents it had acquired.

In line with WiLAN's refocus on patent licensing, in late 2005 the company brought in Jim Skippen, who had previous experience in licensing technology from working at Mosaid as a senior vice president of patent licensing and general counsel.[8]

In 2006, WiLAN also moved from its original location in Calgary, Alberta, Canada to Ottawa, where the company has remained since.[9] That same year, WiLAN acquired Tri-Vision a company that developed a key ingredient in the V-Chip technology. WiLAN also signed a $50 million license deal with Nokia, allowing Nokia to use WiLAN's wireless patents.[10]

A year after refocusing its business model, WiLAN's balance sheet was more positive.[11]

From 2006 to 2011, WiLAN expanded its portfolio of patents from 20 to 3,000.[12] WiLAN in turn licensed out this patented technology to technology giants, such as Nokia, LG Electronics, Samsung, Fujitsu, RIM, Intel, Broadcom and Panasonic.

In 2015, WiLAN announced that it had gained a new portfolio of 7,000 patents in technology related to access memory, flash memory, semiconductor manufacturing, and other technologies. Labeled the “Qimonda portfolio”, in June 2015, WiLAN announced it had signed a multi-year licensing agreement with Samsung, allowing Samsung to use technology in WiLAN's new Qimonda portfolio.[13]

Restructuring in 2015

In late 2015, WiLAN announced that, beginning in October 2015, it would undergo a significant company restructuring.[14] As part of this restructuring, WiLAN announced that it would spin off its research and development unit and cut its dividend to shareholders. The restructuring would affect 30 per cent of WiLAN's workforce. The company would also focus on licensing patent portfolios owned by other companies and helping companies monetize their patents.

In April 2017, WiLAN acquired International Road Dynamics, a Saskatoon-based road traffic management system engineering company, for $63.5 million.[15] In May 2017, they acquired VIZIYA, a software services provider, for $40 million.[16] The acquisition of VIZAYA was part of a broader restructuring at WiLan from a patent licensing company to a more diversified technology holding company. As part of the restructuring, the company changed its name to Quarterhill Inc (although the WiLAN name is still used for the main patent licensing subsidiary of Quarterhill).[16]

Products

  1. Hopper, DS-SSSS modem, 19.2-115kbit/s, 902-926 MHz unlicensed band - 1993-1999.
  2. Hopper Plus, AWE, DS-SSSS CSK modem, up to 1Mbit/s, 2.4 GHz and 5.7 GHz unlicensed bands - 1994-2000.
  3. BWS, Libra Product Lines, OFDM modem, up to 16Mbit/s, 2.4 GHz - 1999-2006.

Awards

  1. 2004 Calgary Export Achievement Award for Collaborative Partnerships by the Haskayne School of Management.[17]
  2. Export Achievement Award from Alberta Venture Magazine in 2004[18]
  3. Wireless Communications Association International "Wemmie" Award in 2003.[19] The award was for the Banco Del Pichincha non-line-of-sight network in Ecuador.
  4. Alberta Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists Association 2002 APEGGA Achievement Award for substantial technological progress.[20]
  5. 1999 recipient of the CATA Alliance Award of Distinction for Emerging Technology.[21]
  6. 1998 ASTECH Award for "Small Business"[22]
  7. One of four finalists for the 1997 ASTECH Award for "Small Business"[22]
  8. 1993 Electronic Industries Association of Alberta (EIAA) "Award for best technology".[22]
  9. Wireless Communications Association (WCA) International "Wemmie" in the "Most Effective Educational Program" category for the Northern Lights School Division network in Northern Alberta.[23]

See also

2

References

  1. ^ "WiLAN's 759 Patent validated in U.S." Reuters. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2013. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "Wi-LAN caught between a rock and a hard place". The Globe and Mail. 21 November 2000. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  3. ^ United States Patent Document patent number 5,282,222
  4. ^ United States Patent number 5,555,269 and the reissued patent number 38,802
  5. ^ Jang, Brent (7 November 2000). "Wi-LAN chief keeps cool whether shares are hot or cold". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Wi-LAN jumps 16% after CIBC issues target price". The Globe and Mail. 18 March 2000. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  7. ^ Shufelt, Tim (3 November 2013). "Undervalued Wi-LAN a buying opportunity". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  8. ^ Sturgeon, Jamie (30 September 2011). "The rise of WiLAN". Financial Post. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  9. ^ Bagnall, James (12 January 2007). "Wi-LAN finds new life in Ottawa". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  10. ^ "Nokia licenses Wi-LAN patents for $49.2M". CBC News. 4 December 2006. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  11. ^ Sturgeon, Jamie (30 September 2011). "The rise of Wi-lan". Financial Post. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  12. ^ Czarnecka, Marzena (1 March 2012). "Wi-Lan left Alberta to make it big in Ottawa. Will other tech start-ups stay?". Alberta Venture. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  13. ^ King, Carolyn (2 June 2015). "Wi-LAN Licenses Qimonda Patent Portfolio to Samsung". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  14. ^ "Wi-LAN to restructure, spin off R&D, slash dividend". The Globe and Mail. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  15. ^ "International Road Dynamics acquired for $63.5 million". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. 18 April 2017.
  16. ^ a b "Wi-Lan's acquisition of VIZIYA marks move into the industrial Internet of Things". Financial Post. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  17. ^ "SMART Technologies wins Haskayne award" (PDF). Calgary Herald. Retrieved 24 June 2013. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ "Winner's Circle | Alberta Venture Magazine, Alberta business, Canadian business, Business Awards, Alberta news, Alberta industry". Albertaventure.com. 6 May 2004. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  19. ^ "Company News". CanadaIT.com. 10 January 2003. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  20. ^ "News Release" (PDF). Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  21. ^ "Company - News & Events - News Details". WiLAN. 19 January 2000. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  22. ^ a b c "Awards". Enel.ucalgary.ca. 6 October 2000. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  23. ^ "Wi-LAN Wins Prestigious Wireless Industry Award". Business Wire. 18 January 2001. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
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