Nokia raises pressure on Qualcomm

Nokia sought to ratchet up the legal pressure on US rival Qualcomm on Friday, asking the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to ban handsets containing some Qualcomm chipsets from entering the US.

The action by the world’s largest mobile phone maker marks a widening of a dispute already being fought in courts on both sides of the Atlantic, and comes in the wake of legal reversals suffered by Qualcomm over the past two weeks.

By trying to capitalise on Qualcomm’s setbacks, Nokia is seeking to increase its chances of a favourable settlement of the long-running licensing battle between the two sides, legal experts said.

“It’s a kind of ‘kick ’em while they’re down’ approach,” said Bob Yoches, a partner at Finnegan Henderson, a US law firm specialising in intellectual property. Qualcomm is “otherwise distracted and has a lot on its plate” in the wake of recent legal losses to US rival, Broadcom, as well as this week’s resignation of its general counsel, he added.

Qualcomm last week failed in an attempt to persuade the White House to overturn a separate ITC ban on imports of some phones containing its chips. That case had been brought by Broadcom, over patents governing battery-saving technology.

However, Nokia itself faces a possible bar on imports of its own GSM handsets in the US, following an earlier complaint to the ITC from Qualcomm. That case is due to be heard in September, potentially giving Qualcomm the upper hand as the two sides jockey for tactical advantage.

On Friday, Nokia asked the ITC to investigate whether Qualcomm had engaged in unfair trade practices by infringing five Nokia patents in its chipset components for third-generation mobile telephones. “Qualcomm is using these patents without authorisation from us,” said Tero Ojanpera, Nokia’s chief technology officer. “We believe we have a very strong case here. Qualcomm’s actions show that they believe they can operate by different sets of rules than others in the wireless industry.”

A licence agreement between the two companies expired in April after Nokia failed to persuade Qualcomm to slash the royalties payable for its chipset patents. Since then both sides have accused each other of infringing patents and not paying royalties and have sought remedies in courts.

In the Broadcom case, Qualcomm is appealing the ITC’s ruling in the courts. Telephone service operators and handset manufacturers have also asked the ITC to stop the ban from taking effect while the appeal is being considered.