The German court becomes the third to rule in favor of Nokia in the 11 lawsuits filed by Qualcomm alleging patent infringement.HELSINKI (Reuters) - The world's top cellphone maker Nokia said the
German Federal Patent Court ruled on Wednesday that a Qualcomm GSM
patent asserted in a case against Nokia is invalid.
"This is the third court to conclude that Qualcomm's patent claims against Nokia are without merit," Nokia said.
Qualcomm has filed 11 lawsuits on three continents against Nokia
claiming the Finnish firm has infringed its patents in mobile phones
based on the widely used GSM technology.
So far the U.S. International Trade Commission and Britain's High
Court have decided the patents have been either invalid or not
infringed.
"Today's decision is further evidence that Qualcomm does not have
relevant and valid GSM patents and that it overstates its role as a
wireless innovator," Nokia said.
No one at Qualcomm was immediately available for comment.
A hearing on the second Qualcomm patent in the German court case is scheduled for October.
The companies have been at legal loggerheads since failing to renew
a technology license pact that expired on April 9, 2007. Analysts
estimate that Nokia pays around $500 million a year for use of Qualcomm
patents and it wants to reduce the sum.
A key court case between the two is scheduled to start in Delaware later on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Tarmo Virki, editing by Will Waterman)
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