Qualcomm, the US mobile phone chipmaker, claimed an initial victory in a patent dispute with Nokia when a judge recommended ending a US International Trade Commission investigation of a complaint filed by the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer.
Qualcomm said Judge Paul Luckern had issued an “initial determination” that effectively ends an investigation started by a Nokia complaint to the ITC.
The two companies have become embroiled in a series of legal disputes since April when a cross-licensing agreement between them covering technology built into 3G handsets expired.
Nokia, the world’s biggest mobile phone maker, filed the complaint with the ITC earlier this year and asked the ITC to ban the import of certain handsets containing Qualcomm chipsets.
Qualcomm said on Friday that the judge granted its request to terminate the investigation “in light of the arbitration pending between the parties regarding their 2001 licence agreement”. His decision will become final unless the commission decides to review it within the next 30 days.
Last month, the ITC held a two-week hearing into a complaint filed by Qualcomm against Nokia, accus ing it of infringing on three of its patents. A final decision on that case is not expected until next year.
In a separate dispute, the ITC banned the import of some phones with Qualcomm chips that were found to infringe on a patent owned by Broadcom.
The ban has been partially stayed while Qualcomm appeals.
via msnbc
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