Ottawa-based WiLan Inc. announced Thursday it has filed lawsuits in a Texas court against the biggest technology names in the world, accusing them of infringing on a patent it holds on Bluetooth technology.

The suit accuses Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, and 15 other companies of improperly using communications technology in their products based on a Bluetooth patent it holds.

WiLan alleges the companies are violating U.S. patent 5,515,369 by selling products such as cellphones and notebook computers that contain Bluetooth technology. These products have become enormously popular among consumers and very lucrative for the companies that sell them.

Bluetooth uses radio waves to transmit voices and data wirelessly over short distances. Wireless keyboards and mice, hands-free cellphones, and wireless photo downloading and printing applications all use Bluetooth technology.

WiLan has amassed a trove of intellectual property that it licenses to more than 220 companies. It has more than 800 patents issued or pending and is known to vigorously pursue perceived violations of its intellectual property.

It's being represented by the U.S.-based firm of McKool Smith PC, which last year won a $224-million US patent infringement verdict for Toronto-based software maker i4i Inc against Microsoft. McKool Smith has represented WiLan in two previous patent cases.

WiLan's allegations of patent violations, which have not been proven in court, are common occurrences among high-tech companies seeking to establish market presence in a competitive and rapidly evolving environment.

Sometimes, the suits are settled when a defendant agrees to pay the patent holder a licensing fee to use the technology in their products.