In July 2006, Agere Systems sued Sony, claiming that Sony knowingly and willfully infringed on its patent for a "wireless local area network apparatus." Sony sought to have Agere's patents declared valid, claiming that Agere had obtained them improperly and that Sony had the rights to the technologies from a previous deal with AT&T and Lucent. Now, more than two years later, the jury has ruled in Agere's favor, ordering Sony to pay $18.5 million to Agere.