International Trade Commission rules in Nokia's favor

A U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) judge made an initial ruling in Nokia's favor in an ongoing and long-running dispute with Qualcomm.
The case was brought by Qualcomm and charged Nokia with infringing on patents 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'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. "It appears to us the lawsuits are tactics related to our ongoing cross-licensing negotiations," said Rick Simonson, Nokia'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.

"Qualcomm is attempting to resolve the negotiations in its favor without having to address the true value of its patent portfolio," Simonson said. Nokia argues that while Qualcomm was the leading contributor to CDMA, the chipmaker's contribution to WCDMA, a third-generation mobile standard, is much smaller. That, combined with an increase in value of Nokia'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.