Qualcomm claims wins vs Nokia in Dutch, German courts

By Suzanne Deffree, News Editor -- Electronic News, 11/14/2007

Qualcomm Inc. has claimed a win in its ongoing legal battles with Nokia.

The San Diego-based company today announced that a Dutch District Court has dismissed a complaint filed by Nokia, in which the Finland-based mobile phone maker sought a declaration that Qualcomm's European patents are exhausted with respect to chips placed on the European market by Texas Instruments in light of the patent portfolio agreement entered into between Qualcomm and TI in 2000.

In dismissing Nokia's complaint, the court ruled that it was only accepting jurisdiction as to The Netherlands and not with respect to any other countries in Europe. The court further concluded that Nokia's complaint was “too vague and non-specific in failing to adequately allege any specific instances of possible exhaustion regarding any specific Qualcomm patents used by any specific Nokia products,” according to a statement from Qualcomm.

Nokia could not be reached for immediate comment by Electronic News. The company has three months to appeal the court's decision and is expected to do so.

“We believe this ruling may help sentiment towards Qualcomm given ongoing legal dispute with Nokia, although we believe Nokia is likely to appeal,” Tim Luke, an analyst at the Lehman Brothers, said in a research note this morning. “We believe that current tone on legal disputes appears constructive with confirmation of long-awaited appointment of three judges for arbitration panel in Nokia dispute and that a decision maybe expected sometime next year.”
 
"It is obvious that Nokia was trying to weaken Qualcomm's position in our licensing negotiations and they failed,” Don Rosenberg, executive VP and general counsel of Qualcomm, said in the company’s statement. “This is the second time in as many months that a court in Europe has rejected Nokia's attempts to have a declaration of exhaustion against Qualcomm's patents."

Separately, on October 23, a regional court in Mannheim, Germany, dismissed similar claims seeking a declaration of patent exhaustion by Nokia. The Mannheim court dismissed Nokia's complaint for “lack of admissibility, noting that Nokia lacked a legal interest in pursuing such claims,” according to Qualcomm. Nokia has until the end of November to appeal that decision.

In both cases, Nokia is required to pay court costs as well as Qualcomm's attorney fees for defending the actions, Qualcomm said.

Nokia filed the complaints against Qualcomm in The Netherlands and Germany March.

The two companies also have litigation here in the United States, including an International Trade Commission (ITC) CDMA investigation. In mid-October, an ITC administrative law judge issued an initial determination to end that investigation. That initial determination will become the ITC's final decision unless the ITC decides by November 24 to review the decision.