The chief executive of Certicom Corp. (TSX: CIC) says a lawsuit against Sony Corp. over patented digital content protection technology could be the first of many legal actions the Canadian company takes to protect its intellectual property.

Bernard Crotty said in a conference call Wednesday that Certicom is considering litigation against other companies involved in the development of Blu-ray and HD-DVD technologies.

Earlier in the day the computer security provider launched a lawsuit against Sony claiming that the Japanese electronics giant infringed on two U.S. patents for digital content protection.

The suit, filed in a Texas district court, alleges Sony is using Certicom encryption technology in a wide variety of Blu-ray high-definition products, including DVD players, the Playstation 3 game console and Vaio personal computers.

Other patented Certicom digital transmission technology is being used without a licence in Sony devices such as high-definition televisions and audio equipment, the company alleges.

A Sony spokesman said he had not seen the litigation and could not comment.

Crotty said Certicom executives have been in “various forms of discussion with Sony for a significant period of time” but an agreement on licensing was never reached.

As a result, the company launched the lawsuit, following through on a promise to “take steps to defend our portfolio,” Crotty said.

Certicom is looking at other unnamed companies it believes are breaking its digital protection patents.

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