HELSINKI, Finland, 18 August 2007 — Nokia Corp., the world’s largest mobile phone maker, said yesterday that it has filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission alleging that chipset maker Qualcomm has engaged in unfair trade practices by infringing on its patents.
The Finnish company has asked the ITC to start an investigation and issue an order to bar imports to the United States of chipsets and products that allegedly infringe on its patents, Nokia said.
“Qualcomm’s unfair trade practices include importing products, selling products for importation, and/or selling products after importation, and inducing others to import products such as handsets that infringe Nokia patented technology in certain Qualcomm GSM/WCDMA and CDMA2000 chipsets,” Nokia said.
Nokia shares jumped 2.7 percent to 21.55 euros ($28.99) on the Helsinki Stock Exchange.
“There is significant evidence to warrant an ITC investigation into Qualcomm’s business conduct,” Chief Financial Officer Rick Simonson said. “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.”
A Qualcomm representative in Europe could not be reached for comment.
Nokia’s complaint is part of a multinational legal battle with Qualcomm Inc., the world’s No. 2 chipmaker for mobile phones which licenses its technology patents.
In June, Nokia filed a lawsuit in a Texas district court claiming unauthorized use of its Brew and MediaFlo patents, which allow fast, high-quality transfers of audio and video multimedia to wireless subscribers.
In April, Qualcomm filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Texas against Nokia, allegedly involving certain types of mobile software download and execution environments. San Diego-based Qualcomm’s lawsuit said Nokia infringed on patents for phones that run on a standard known as global system for mobile communication, or GSM, which is prevalent in Europe and accounts for about two-thirds of all mobile phones.
Nokia has said it believes the Qualcomm patents are invalid, as the alleged inventions have been patented or published by other companies before Qualcomm. It also said it does not believe Nokia’s products infringe any of the patents.
Simonson said Nokia is seeking “the same remedies Qualcomm has sought against Nokia in multiple venues around the world.”
