Openwave Systems has said it filed complaints against Apple Inc. and Research In Motion Limited in order to protect its intellectual property on how mobile devices connect to the Internet.

The complaint, filed at the International Trade Commission (ITC) in Washington, DC, requests that the ITC bar the import of smartphones and tablet computers that infringe Openwave patents, including, but not limited to, Apple’s iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod Touch, iPad and iPad 2; and RIM’s Blackberry Curve 9330 and Blackberry PlayBook. Openwave also filed a similar complaint in federal district court in Delaware.

“Openwave invented technologies that became foundational to the mobile Internet. We believe that these large companies should pay us for the use of our technologies, particularly in light of the substantial revenue these companies have earned from devices that use our intellectual property,” said Ken Denman, Chief Executive Officer of Openwave. “Before filing these complaints, we approached both of these companies numerous times in an attempt to negotiate a license of our technology with them and did not receive a substantive response.”

“In the end, litigation is the only way we can defend our rights against these large companies that have effectively refused to license the use of the technologies we invented, are using today, and are continuing to develop for our customers,” Mr. Denman said. “We are proud that our technology is helping deliver such a rich mobile internet experience to consumers around the world.”

The Openwave complaints specifically allege that Apple and RIM infringe upon five Openwave patents. These patents cover technology that gives consumers access to the Internet from their mobile devices.