More legal trouble hits Qualcomm

IN AN almost direct copy of the successful tactics employed by chipmaker, Broadcom, Nokia has decided to go the the US' ITC (International Trade Commission).

It's saying that Qualcomm has engaged in unfair trade practices through infringing five Nokia patents within its CDMA and WCDMA/GSM chipsets.

Nokia therefore wants a bar on the importation into the United States of America of infringing Qualcomm chipsets and products - such as handsets containing the infringing chipsets.

This is going to be an intriguing situation for the ITC given that it has already announced such a ban on behalf of Broadcom. Which Qualcomm is in the process of appealing against, of course.

Coming out with fighting talk is Nokia's Rick Simonson who says, "We are taking this action to stop Qualcomm's practice of copying Nokia's patented technology, without permission, and making these innovations available to its chipset customers."

Interestingly Nokia's patents cover increased battery life as well as lower manufacturing costs through smaller product size.

Nokia admits that it has not only decided to copy Broadcom's tactics over the ITC but is now copying Qualcomm by going to court in any country it can think of.

The dispute stems from the fact that Nokia denies it owes Qualcomm anything like the sum it claims for using Qualcomm patents. The couple's cross-licensing deal expired in April 2007. µ

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