Fractus S.A., a Spanish manufacturer of antennas for cellphones, has sued 10 handset makers for violating its intellectual property.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (005930.SE), LG Electronics Inc. (066570.SE), Research in Motion Ltd. (RIMM), Palm Inc. (PALM), HTC Corp. (2498.TW), UTStarcom Inc. (UTSI), Sharp Corp. (SHCAY), Sanyo Corp. (SANYY), Kyocera Corp. (KYO) and Pantech Wireless Inc. were named as defendants.

In a lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Texas, Fractus alleged the handset companies violated nine patents related to internal antennas used in cellphones.

An attorney for Fractus said he believes it's a broader issue.

"It is not all internal antennas," said Justin Nelson of Susman Godfrey L.L.P., who noted that the effective dates for some of the patents go back as far as 1999.

Most of the companies couldn't be reached for comment. LG and Kyocera declined to comment, while UTStarcom noted that it had sold off its cellphone business last year.

Intellectual property battles aren't uncommon in the wireless industry. Companies routinely sue each other over the use of technology.

-By Roger Cheng, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2020; roger.cheng@dowjones.com