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Legal language and corporate posturing often go hand in hand, and it’s reflected in the statements made by vendors when they head to court. Case in point: Juniper’s statement about its decision to sue firewall challenger Palo Alto Networks.

“Juniper focuses on delivering breakthrough innovations for our customers.  As a leading high-performance networking company, we will take every appropriate measure to defend and protect our innovation,” said David Shane, vice president of corporate communications at Juniper.

This has been the “Year of the Lawsuit,” with vendors not just visiting courtrooms, but setting up camp and staying longer than Occupy Wall Street. It seems not a week went by without some vendor suing another for patent infringement, breach of contract, unlawful hirings and unfair trade practices.

Many of the 2011 lawsuits are based on patent infringement claims. Some analysts and observers say the court challenges are substitutes for shortcomings in research and development and an inability to execute on past ideas by some vendors. This is often criticism of lawsuits involving smartphone and tablet technologies.

While civil action is always an option in resolving disputes between companies, 2011 has become the year in which lawsuits and legal briefs were the weapon of choice between feuding vendors. In fact, some would say these lawsuits are the only form of communication between warring factions.

Here’s a look at some of the notable technology legal disputes of the year.

FIRST UP: Apple vs. Et Al in Mobility

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