Nokia wins in Qualcomm case
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Another round in world's longest court battle Nokia has won a limited victory in its long-running court battle with Qualcomm.â¦
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Nokia , the world's biggest mobile phone maker, said on Tuesday the ongoing patent battle with Qualcomm Inc.  may work against the uptake of "third-generation" mobile technology.
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HELSINKI/WASHINGTON  - The U.S. International Trade Commission on Monday opened a hearing in a case in which U.S. chip maker Qualcomm Inc  accused Nokia  of infringing some of its patents in cellphones using the GSM technology.
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(InfoWorld) - Ongoing legal disputes over mobile phone patents between Nokia and Qualcomm are consuming much executive management time, generating substantial lawyer fees, and, if they escalate, could affect handset development and prices, experts warn. Defending IP (intellectual-property) rights through litigation "is the nature of the business," said Chris Jones, senior analyst with Canalys.com in Reading, England. "But in the case of Nokia and Qualcomm, unfortunately, it's been taking up too much management time." On Monday, Nokia responded to a patent lawsuit filed by Qualcomm in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas by filing a counterclaim against the U.S. company. Over the past two years, Qualcomm has filed 11 lawsuits against Nokia, according to a Nokia spokeswoman. The initial Qualcomm lawsuit filed in Texas deals with three patents related to the downloading of applications and other digital content over GPRSÂ or EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) networks, two technologies for speeding the transmission of packet data in GSM networks. Nokia contends that Qualcomm's patents are invalid and, in addition, has asked the Texas court to stop Qualcomm from using six Nokia implementation patents used in Qualcomm's MediaFlow and Brew technologies. Standards bodies divide patents touching the technologies they define into two categories: Those essential to a standards-compliant product, and those that only cover a particular implementation of the standard. This is the second counterclaim filed by the Finnish manufacturer. On April 2, Nokia filed a counterclaim in the U.S. Western District of Wisconsin, accusing Qualcomm of infringing on six of its patents relating primarily to multiband and multimode technologies that reduce handset and chipset size, cost, and power consumption. The counterclaim came in response to Qualcomm's initial lawsuit filed in the same court over two patents covering speech encoders used in certain GSM phones to digitize audio signals for transmission. So far, the patent infringement lawsuits against Nokia "haven't taken the vendor's eye off the ball when it comes to developing and bringing handsets to market," Jones said but warned of "too much management time being focused on these litigation cases." Nokia is in "close discussions" with its partners and customers to keep them informed of how the company is dealing with litigation, the spokeswoman said. "Our view is that they respect our right to protect our patents and our business, and to take the action we need to take," she said. Andrew Gilbert, president of Qualcomm Europe, argues that the company's licensing model has created greater competition in the market by allowing vendors without GSM patents to enter the market and compete more easily. The model, known as "pass through rights," lets manufacturers obtain the rights to use numerous GSM patents already licensed by Qualcomm -- in addition to the company's own CDMA patents -- instead of having to strike separate royalty deals with each GSM patent holder. "We think our model drives down prices of royalties and thus the price of handsets," he said. But Gilbert conceded that the current litigation is a cost factor. "Clearly, we'd rather be spending the couple of hundred million dollars on innovation," he said. That sum could easily rise as the chronology of the legal battles between Qualcomm and Nokia suggests: On Oct. 28, 2005, Nokia and five other companies, including Broadcom and Telefonaktiebolaget Ericsson, filed a complaint to the European Commission over Qualcomm's high royalty rates, among other issues. The Commission has yet to make a decision. On Nov. 4, 2005,Â Qualcomm filed a lawsuit against NokiaÂ in the federal court of San Diego, California, over GSM patents. The court put the case on hold, pending further information. On May 24, 2006,Â Qualcomm filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Nokia in the U.K.Â over two GSM patents. The trial is expected later this year. On June 9, 2006, Qualcomm filed a complaint against Nokia with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) over six GSM patents. The company later withdrew three, and the ITC has meanwhile put the case on hold. On Aug. 9, 2006, Qualcomm filed a GSM patent infringement lawsuit against Nokia in Germany. The trial is set for September. On the same day,Â Nokia filed a case in Delaware, claiming that Qualcomm breached its written contractual obligations to license essential GSM and 3G (third-generation) patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. On Oct. 4, 2006, Qualcomm filed a patent infringement lawsuits against Nokia in France and on Oct. 16 in Italy over GSM technologies. On Feb. 2, 2007, Qualcomm filed three complaints in China over GSM patents. On March 19, Nokia filed complaints against Qualcomm patents in Germany and the Netherlands. On April 2, Qualcomm filed the two cases against Nokia in Wisconsin an Texas. And on May 24,Â Nokia filed a counter-claim against QualcommÂ in response to the lawsuit filed in Wisconsin.
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(InfoWorld) - Nokia Corp.'s patent licensing deal with Trimble Navigation Ltd. this week could give the phone maker an important boost in an ongoing dispute with CDMA developer Qualcomm Inc. The dealÂ gives Nokia a license for 700 Trimble technologies for delivering location-based services, as well as exclusive rights to sublicense them to other companies in the wireless industry. That means any company that wants to license Trimble's patents must now do so through Nokia. Nokia officials stopped short of calling the deal just what it needs to end itsÂ acrimonious renegotiation talks with Qualcomm. But they acknowledged that it will strengthen Nokia's hand in licensing talks with all wireless companies that include GPS (Global Positioning Systems) capabilities in their products. "It will improve our negotiating position," said Ulla James, director of intellectual property rights strategic marketing for Nokia. Trimble has one of the biggest portfolios of patents for location-based technologies, and any company that offers such capabilities will now need to talk to Nokia, she said. Qualcomm integrates GPS capabilities in many of its chipsets, including its gpsOne product. The company has shipped tens of millions of such chipsets in the past few years, said Nitesh Patel, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics Inc. "Given that Nokia can sublicense to whoever it wants to and on whatever terms it wishes to, it has a strong bargaining position with Qualcomm with respect to GPS," Patel wrote in an e-mail. He cautioned that Qualcomm might already have a long-term contract with Trimble that could supersede the arrangement between Nokia and Trimble. Qualcomm declined requests for comment, and Nokia would not discuss how the deal might affect its negotiations with Qualcomm specifically. Nokia and Qualcomm are engaged in a bitter renegotiation of a patent licensing agreement that ends in April 2007. The companies license a variety of patents from each other relating to mobile phone standards. Qualcomm is well-known for developing the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) standard and Nokia patents contribute to the WCDMA (Wideband CDMA) and other standards. Qualcomm has launched several lawsuits against Nokia for alleged patent infringement and Nokia, along with five other mobile vendors, has filed an anticompetitive complaint against Qualcomm with the European Commission. Nokia played down the significance of the April deadline. If the two sides don't reach agreement by then, they will both be able to continue selling their respective products in any case, James said. It is "normal practice" for two companies in a renegotiation process to continue selling products even if the contract expires, with an eye to settling payments once a new contract is agreed to, she said. Nevertheless, a stronger patent portfolio of its own could only help Nokia in its negotiations. In some of its lawsuits against Nokia, Qualcomm has asked the court to pay for Nokia's alleged patent infringement on phones that it has already sold. Nokia's agreement with Trimble marks a new way of thinking at the Finnish handset maker, which now views intellectual property more as an investment, said James. That's a turnaround from the 1980s, when the company didn't believe in the long-term value of patents and advised companies not to apply for them, James said. Today, Nokia contributes 25 percent of the patents that make up the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard and 28 percent of WCDMA patents, James said. It also holds 130 essential patents for CDMA. Despite announcing an exit from the CDMA market, Nokia intends to hold onto those patents as a revenue generator, she said. Nokia also believes that it has around 25 percent of essential patents for WiMax, the emerging broadband wireless standard. Qualcomm recently beganÂ asking WiMax vendors to license patents relevant to WiMax that it acquired when it bought Flarion Technologies Inc. last year. Â  James Niccolai in Paris contributed to this report. Â
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Nokia , the world's biggest  mobile phone maker, said on Tuesday the United States  International Trade Commission (ITC) has ordered a stay of  wireless chip supplier Qualcomm's  suit against Nokia.
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OULU, Finland  - The world's top cellphone maker, Nokia , said it would consider appealing against a German court's on Tuesday decision to dismiss Nokia's case against U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm .
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The what got what? Nokiaâs got a smile on its face. The Finnish phone giant's N95 8GB handset has become the worldâs first mobile to win wireless connectivity certification from the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA).â¦
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Nokia, the world&#39;s largest mobile phone maker, this week took legal action against two European manufacturers for allegedly infringing on technology patents and registered designs.
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Nokia Corp., the world's largest mobile phone maker, took legal action earlier this week against two European manufacturers for allegedly infringing on technology patents and registered designs.
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$19.6m patent slap Broadcom won $19.6m today from Qualcomm, after a jury found the chip design rival guilty of infringing three patents for cell phone technology.â¦
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A federal jury told wireless chip  supplier Qualcomm Inc.  to pay smaller rival Broadcom  Corp.  $19.6 million in damages for infringing three of  its patents, the companies said on Tuesday.
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Wireless chip developer Qualcomm Inc.   QCOM.O said on Friday the U.S. District Court for New Jersey   has dismissed Broadcom Corp's BRCM.O antitrust complaint   against Qualcomm in its entirety.
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InfoWorld - Ongoing legal disputes over mobile phone patents between Nokia and Qualcomm are consuming much executive management time, generating substantial lawyer fees, and, if they escalate, could affect handset development and prices, experts warn.
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Nokia Oyj , the world's top mobile phone maker, filed a patent counter-suit against Qualcomm Inc  in a Texas court seeking damages and an injunction against the U.S. chip maker.
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Wireless chip developer Qualcomm Inc.   said on Friday the U.S. District Court for New Jersey  has dismissed Broadcom Corp's  antitrust complaint  against Qualcomm in its entirety.
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A U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) judge made an initial ruling in Nokia&#39;s favor in an ongoing and long-running dispute with Qualcomm.The case was brought by Qualcomm and charged Nokia with infringing on patents&#160;in its GSM/GPRS/EDGE (Global System for Mobile Communications/General Packet Radio Service/Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) handsets that do not include WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access). The patents cover certain power control technologies.The judge also ruled that one of Qualcomm&#39;s patents in question is invalid, Nokia said.Qualcomm, which is best known for its development of CDMA technology, was seeking a ban on the importation of Nokia handsets using the technology into the U.S. The original complaint alleged that Nokia infringed on six patents, Nokia said. Since then, Qualcomm withdrew three patents from the complaint, Nokia said.Nokia and Qualcomm are embroiled in a bitter battle that likely has at its heart a cross-licensing agreement that expired earlier this year. Nokia clearly believes so. &quot;It appears to us the lawsuits are tactics related to our ongoing cross-licensing negotiations,&quot; said Rick Simonson, Nokia&#39;s chief financial officer, during a conference call with media on Wednesday.Qualcomm has filed 11 patent infringement suits against Nokia around the world over the past two years, he said.&quot;Qualcomm is attempting to resolve the negotiations in its favor without having to address the true value of its patent portfolio,&quot; Simonson said. Nokia argues that while Qualcomm was the leading contributor to CDMA, the chipmaker&#39;s contribution to WCDMA, a third-generation mobile standard, is much smaller. That, combined with an increase in value of Nokia&#39;s intellectual property, means the phone maker should have to pay Qualcomm less than previously paid as part of their cross-licensing deal, Nokia argues.Simonson would not comment on the progress of the renegotiations beyond to say that discussions continue.In its statement, Qualcomm did not comment further than to say that it plans to petition the ITC to review the ruling. The ITC is scheduled to make a final ruling on April 14. Qualcomm did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.This story was updated on December 12, 2007