High Court says Nokia did not infringe valid patents

Qualcomm had sued Nokia in 2006 alleging that its GSM mobile phone technology infringed two patents it held which it said protected power saving and power control technology.

The High Court has said that none of Nokia's technology infringes a valid part of a Qualcomm patent.

The power saving patent was deemed invalid, and the power control patent only partially valid.

Though the Court said that Nokia's technology included material covered by the power saving patent, that was irrelevant since the patent was invalid.

It said that Nokia technology also included some material in the power control patent, but only the invalid parts, and that therefore no licence fees were due.

"We are pleased with the Court's decision that the patent claims are invalid and believe it is consistent with and supported by the facts," said Rick Simonson, Chief Financial Officer of Nokia. 'This is the second court to conclude that Qualcomm does not have relevant and valid GSM patents."

Last week the US International Trade Commission backed a judge's December determination that Nokia technology does not infringe Qualcomm's GSM patents as claimed by the company.

"The UK High Court and US ITC findings are further evidence of Qualcomm overstating its position as an industry innovator and demanding compensation for patents that are not relevant or valid," Simonson said.

The courtroom spat is the latest in a long running dispute over patents which began in 2005, when Nokia complained to the European Commission about Qualcomm's behaviour over standardisation for third generation (3G) mobile phone networks. Nokia said that Qualcomm agreed that it would not over-charge for licences to its technology if it was incorporated into industry-wide standards.

Once those standards were set, argued Nokia, Qualcomm levied charges that were excessive and disproportionate. That case is ongoing.

A week later Qualcomm filed a suit in the US alleging that Nokia infringed 11 of its patents. Nokia filed another suit in Europe in recent weeks arguing that the patents on which Qualcomm's cases rest have expired in Europe.

A year ago a cross-licensing deal between the companies lapsed and has not been renewed.