The actions come shortly after , including a sale of the business. Over the past year it has seen the value of intellectual property rise as mobile companies have begun to understand the value of such assets, it said. Both Google and Apple are rumored suitors.

InterDigital has around 1,400 U.S. patents but claims to have a patent portfolio of 19,000 issued patents and patent applications worldwide.

The , said patent expert Florian Mueller in a blog post. "I believe that InterDigital wants to demonstrate that it holds patents that it declares essential to a host of 3G-related standards," he wrote. "This approach would make sense for InterDigital with a view to the objective of signing license deals with the defendants, but in the current situation the complaint may also be a statement directed at potential acquirers."

As competition in the mobile market heats up, the value of patents is indeed skyrocketing. Many of the largest companies in the mobile industry are engaged in patent infringement battles and the one with the largest portfolio tends to win. Apple has sued Motorola, Samsung and HTC over their Android products. Microsoft has persuaded HTC and others to license its technology for use in their Android products, and .

In addition, . And, a consortium of companies including Apple, Microsoft, Research In Motion and Sony