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Sunday, May 28, 2006

Wireless Solution Provider Nokia Learns Second Hand of Qualcomm Lawsuit

Wireless solution provider Nokia learned late Wednesday that it was to be tagged with a patent infringement in the United Kingdom by Finnish wireless provider Qualcomm after reading a press release. Nokia saw the press release before it knew about or had read a copy of the complaint.

The Finnish cell phone and infrastructure vendor Qualcomm’s release came as no real surprise to Nokia, since the company has many other times complained and filed litigation about similar issues regarding the wireless solution provider Typically patent litigation defendants violently deny charges, but that is because they have already seen complaint details. Nokia spokespeople state they are unable to publicly make any statements about the suit until they receive the formal complaint. However, the solution provider states the suit probably has very little merit.

Early last Wednesday Qualcomm issued a release saying it was reopening a lawsuit previously filed against Nokia in the United States to the UK and is asking for damages and an injunction. The Finninsh company says that solution provider Nokia has committed infringement on two patents in its cell phones that have GPRS and EDGE built-in technology.

Nokia’s response was that it has 223 patents that relate specifically to that technology and that Qualcomm is not as well-established and innovative in the GSM market as Nokia.

Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg