Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has filed a lawsuit against US telecoms in lieu of infringing the patent rights on multiple Wi-Fi patents held by CSIRO.

If proved guilty the Australian firm will cash in almost $1 billion from a lawsuit that is specifically aimed against Verizon Wireless and AT&T. The firm claims that math required to develop and design Wi-Fi systems is propriety of CSIRO.

This is not the first time CSIRO is fighting for its rights as in earlier incidents many companies such as Dell, Toshiba, HP, Microsoft and Intel were accused of infringing the patent rights, and CSIRO claims to have received $250 million as settlements alone.

According to an intellectual property law expert, Trevor Choy, "The widespread usage of the technology means that a few cents per customer/data volume usage could easily add up to a lazy billion or more," reports the Sydney Morning Herald.