- Published 2026.11.06 02:57
Takes hard line after license talks collapse since 2022
Uses Wi-Fi 6 standard patent that won against Asus
Wilus Institute of Standards and Technology (Wilus), a Korean company specializing in communications standard patents, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce company, in a German court. The move comes as royalty negotiations over Wi-Fi technology have remained deadlocked for nearly four years, prompting the legal action. Wilus is pressuring the global big tech company with a patent that previously led to a sales ban against Taiwan's Asus.
According to Wilus on Nov. 5, the company filed a lawsuit against Amazon at the Munich I Regional Court on Oct. 23, alleging infringement of Wi-Fi 6 standard essential patents (SEPs).
Wilus and Amazon have been in license negotiations over Wi-Fi technology since 2022 but have failed to reach an agreement. Amazon has been reluctant to sign license deals with Wi-Fi SEP holders, except for a few companies such as Huawei.
The weapon Wilus is using in this lawsuit is the European patent (EP 3 512 289, etc.) that secured its victory in the previous litigation against Asus. The patent covers 'enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA)' technology that improves data transmission efficiency in Wi-Fi 6 environments where multiple devices connect simultaneously. It optimizes channel waiting time and contention range for each device, reducing communication errors and maintaining stable speeds. Wilus holds the rights to this patent jointly with SK Telecom.
In January 2026, the Munich I Regional Court ruled in favor of Wilus in a patent infringement suit against Asus and ordered a sales ban in Germany on Asus products using the technology. Cornered, Asus eventually joined the Wi-Fi patent pool of Sisvel, a global patent management company, in May 2026 and settled with Wilus.
Wilus is an R&D company founded in 2012 by CEO Kwak Jin-sam, a former LG Electronics researcher. It currently participates as a major licensor in the Wi-Fi patent pool operated by Sisvel. The company does not manufacture products but generates revenue from patent royalties by researching communications and multimedia standard technologies.
If Amazon signs a license agreement as a result of this lawsuit, Wilus's global technology standing will be further strengthened. Many global companies, including Microsoft, HP, Lenovo, Cisco, Samsung Electronics, and LG Electronics, have already secured rights to use Wilus's Wi-Fi technology through individual contracts or the Sisvel patent pool.
Kwak Jin-sam, CEO of Wilus, said in a statement that day, "We always seek to reach license agreements without litigation, but to maintain a fair competitive environment, we have no choice but to act when a company of Amazon's scale does not secure rights." He added, "Royalties generated through the Sisvel patent pool and other channels are essential to support continued R&D in wireless technology."
※ This article is an AI translation of the Korean original published by Korea Credit News; it was checked by automated quality guards and published by the English edition desk.
