Today marks another victory for Nokia as the US International Trade Commission ruled that patent ‘473 of Qualcomm Inc. was invalid and that Nokia was not in violation of any of the three other cases brought against them by their competitor.
Originally filed on June 9, 2006, Qualcomm brought suit that Nokia had violated 6 of their patents but withdrew half of them voluntarily prior to the beginning of the hearing. Ever since the two began the their worldwide battle, both companies have had numerous victories in different countries. Other similar disputes between the two companies are still awaiting hearing in Europe and China.
Qualcomm has had a tumultuous year with the US ITC ruling in favor of their opponents including the partial ban on CDMA/W-CDMA cellular phones that was brought against them by Broadcom back in June. They have had better results overseas in Holland for instance where a judge ruled against Nokia citing their arguments as “too abstract” and “too theoretical.”
A final review of this initial judgment will be brought forth to the Commission where we are to expect a final determination on April 14, 2008.
