Nokia fires another IPR salvo at Qualcomm

Stuart Corner
Friday, 17 August 2007 13:42

Business IT - Technology

Earlier this year, after suffering litigation from Qualcomm over alleged patent infringements, Nokia hit back claiming that Qualcomm's MediaFLO mobile TV broadcast technology and its BREW mobile application platform both infringed on "many patented Nokia inventions."

Nokia filed patent assertions against Qualcomm in the Eastern District of Texas Court relating to Qualcomm's alleged unauthorised use of six Nokia implementation patents by Qualcomm in its MediaFLO and BREW businesses. Nokia is seeking both damages and injunctive relief.
 
According to Nokia's CTO, Tero Ojanper , "This is another example where Qualcomm has effectively copied Nokia's innovations. We believe that, for MediaFLO to evolve and for BREW to remain viable, Qualcomm needs access to these and many other patented Nokia inventions."

In August last year, Nokia retaliated to a GSM & UMTS intellectual property attack from Qualcomm, accusing Qualcomm of violating written contractual obligations to international standards setting organisations.

Nokia filed a complaint against Qualcomm with the Delaware Court of Chancery in the US asking the Court to order Qualcomm to "abide by its written contractual obligations to international standards setting organisations to license intellectual property essential to GSM and UMTS technology standards on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms."

Nokia described that action as a defensive measure "to ensure there is a consolidated forum for addressing these issues and is asking the Court to enforce Qualcomm's obligation to negotiate royalties on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms."

That move was in response to three separate legal actions against Nokia initiated by Qualcomm. In June 2006 Qualcomm launched an attack on Nokia very similar to that initiated this week by Nokia.

Qualcomm requested injunctions from the US International Trade Commission prohibiting the import of Nokia phones which, it alleged, contained technology subject to Qualcomm patents which Nokia has not licensed. That move followed Qualcomm filing suit against Nokia in the US in November 2005 and in the UK in May 2006 over alleged breach of several patents.