(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Qualcomm said the US International Trade Commission has launched an investigation into whether Finland's Nokia and its US unit engaged in unfair trade practices and infringed upon six Qualcomm patents.
Qualcomm said it seeks an exclusion order to bar importation of Nokia handsets that infringe Qualcomm patents. Qualcomm also seeks a cease and desist order to bar further sales of Nokia products that have already been imported, and to halt the marketing, advertising, demonstration and stocking of inventory for distribution in the US.
In June, Qualcomm, a developer of a technology platform used in mobile phone chips, said it filed a complaint with the US ITC, and it expected investigation of the complaint to begin in July and to be tried in the first half of 2007.
'We have every intention of cooperating with the ITC, and we think the filing by Qualcomm has absolutely no merit,' said Nokia spokesman William Plummer. He dismissed the ITC case and two other recent legal actions by Qualcomm as 'serial litigation' in retaliation for legitimate industry complaints filed against Qualcomm over intellectual property and market tactics.
The company said it expects an initial determination to be issued in the first half of the year after an evidentiary hearing.
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