Recently, we learned that Apple is suing Nokia for patent infringements and was seeking to ban imports of the Finnish handset maker’s products. We really aren’t too sure specifically which patents Apple is referring to, and at this point it’s really hard to keep up. Nokia has also sued Apple for patent infringements in the past over the iPhone, and then with the iPad. The International Trade Commission, or ITC, is looking over the disputes and appears to be siding with Nokia in this case.
The ITC said that “evidence will not establish a violation” in a pre-hearing statement. The Wall Street Journal reports:
The ITC staff said on Monday that some of the Apple patents were invalid and others weren’t infringed. But the statement said that if a judge determines Nokia violated patents, he should ban some Nokia phones from being imported into the U.S.
While the ITC staff doesn’t believe that Apple patents were violated, a judge can still make a different ruling.
These lawsuits are still a long way from over, but for this particular case it appears that Nokia may actually have the edge over Apple.
[Via: WSJ (subscription required)]