Another day, another patent infringement lawsuit. This time, Canada-based Wi-LAN—"a leader in technology licensing"—has filed two suits against 22 total companies that it alleges have infringed on its patents relating to WiFi and power consumption in DSL products. Those companies include some strange bedfellows: PC manufacturers like Apple, Acer, Gateway, and HP; WiFi gear makers such as Atheros Communications, Belkin, Broadcom, Buffalo Technology, and D-Link; and a pair of big-box retailers—Best Buy and Circuit City—just for kicks.

The complaint, filed in the patent-litigation hotbed of the Eastern District of Texas, accuses the 22 companies of making or selling products that infringe on three of its patents: patent numbers 5,282,222, RE37,802 and 5,956,323. The patents address Wi-LAN's developments on WiFi transceivers and power consumption, which are utilized in the products sold by many popular companies. Wi-LAN does not make or sell any products itself, however—the company has done work on broadband wireless technology since 1992, but "reinvented itself" in 2006 to focus on licensing its intellectual property. One such successful reinvention came from Fujitsu, which recently signed a license agreement with Wi-LAN, giving the company access to Wi-LAN's entire patent portfolio.

"Wi-LAN has successfully negotiated patent licensing deals with a number of companies covering a broad range of patent families and technologies," said Wi-LAN CEO Jim Skippen in a statement. "Our existing licensing agreements are a strong endorsement of the strength and validity of our valuable patent portfolio. While we prefer to resolve patent infringement through business discussions, we have consistently maintained that litigation was always a possibility when negotiations do not result in a license within a reasonable time."

Skippen said in a conference call this morning that the reason Wi-LAN targeted so many companies at once was so that it could ensure its own choice of venue for the suits (Marshall, Texas—natch). "We were concerned that we would be forced into other courts through declaratory judgment actions if we did not sue virtually all of the likely defendants," he said during the call.

It's highly unusual for an IP firm to sue retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City. What exactly does Wi-LAN expect to get out of targeting those two companies? It's difficult to envision Best Buy no longer selling 802.11b/g/n access points as a result of the lawsuits. "We cannot predict how Best Buy or Circuit City will respond to our lawsuits," Wi-LAN VP of licensing and general counsel Bill Middleton told Ars. "However, many retailers choose to encourage their suppliers to act quickly to take a license to the patents at issue."