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A Canadian company said Thursday that it has filed suit against Acer, Apple, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Sony, Toshiba and 14 other top technology firms, accusing them of patent infringement.

Ottawa-based WiLAN Inc., which describes itself as a technology innovation and licensing company, filed the suit on Wednesday against the 20 US and Asian companies in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

WiLAN accuses them of violating a patent its holds on Bluetooth technology, a wireless communications system that allows for hands-free calling among other uses.

The firms named in the lawsuit are Acer, Apple, Atheros, Belkin, Broadcom, D-Link, Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Marvell Semiconductor, Motorola, Personal Communications Devices, Sony, Texas Instruments, Toshiba and UTStarcom.

They were accused of making personal computers, mobile phones or other devices that allegedly infringe on a Bluetooth patent held by WiLAN since 1996.

WiLAN, which claims a portfolio of 800 patents and has filed a number of infringement lawsuits in the past against leading technology firms, is asking for unspecified damages.