By Liz McKenzie

Law360, New York (August 25, 2009, 5:53 PM ET) -- An Acacia Research Corp. unit has targeted a wide range of companies – including Hewlett-Packard Co., American International Group Inc., AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP and Dow Chemical Co. – with a patent infringement suit over videoconferencing technology.

Texas-based Teleconference Systems LLC filed suit Monday in the U.S. District Court of Delaware, accusing a variety of major companies of infringing its multiparty videoconferencing patent.

Other defendants in the suit include technology giant Advanced Micro Devices Inc., film studio Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc. and Marriott International Group.

The patent-in-suit,...