The tables have turned for embattled chipmaker Qualcomm. After being on the receiving end of patent disputes and U.S. International Trade Commission investigations/bans, Qualcomm has accused Nokia of infringing on patents relating to GSM technology. The U.S. ITC has opened an investigation into whether or not Nokia did indeed tread on Qualcomm’s patent turf.
Hearings will be held over the next couple weeks and the entire investigation is expected to wrap up by March 12, 2008. At stake are three GSM patents that Qualcomm is saying has been used without proper licensing by Nokia. GSM is the most widely-used wireless protocol in the world, so this is going to be one legal battle to keep an eye on.
We can’t say we condone the ever-increasing popularity of using the US ITC to conduct what amounts to licensing negotiations, but we gotta give Qualcomm some props for actually managing to fight back and put Nokia’s feet to the fire – Qualcomm’s been on the ugly-end of a legal beat-down recently.
[Via: Reuters]