After lull, Nokia counter-sues Qualcomm

Nokia Corp. responded to Qualcomm Inc.’s April 2 lawsuit filed in Wisconsin, disputing the latter’s allegation of patent infringement, and charging the chip vendor with violating six Nokia patents.
Nokia’s action capped six weeks of relative quiet in the closely watched tug-of-war between the two wireless industry heavy hitters. Their cross-licensing agreement lapsed April 10 and Qualcomm’s Wisconsin suit, filed a week earlier, had been the latest legal salvo until now.
Qualcomm declined to comment on Nokia’s countersuit.
Both sides have insisted that legal actions such as those filed in Wisconsin are based on their own merits, without wider connotations. Yet many analysts and observers consider the numerous legal matters between the two companies to reflect their efforts at positioning in the bigger cross-licensing issue.
In the latest filing, the Finnish handset maker said that the two patents in Qualcomm’s April 2 suit are invalid. It further alleged that six Nokia patents used in Qualcomm’s GSM/W-CDMA and CDMA2000 chipsets, while not “essential” patents, provided “substantial benefits” when used. Nokia seeks an injunction against Qualcomm to stop the use of its six patents.
The “implementation” patents cited in Nokia’s countersuit relate to multi-band/multi-mode technologies for roaming and direct-conversion technologies that reduce chip size, cost and power consumption, conveying similar benefits to handsets in which they’re used, according to the company.