BMO Capital Markets came out with short report today. Rates Qcom Outperform; target $50. Says that NOK has in its suit against handset maker, Vitelcom, taken a position which is apparently inconsistent to its position in the Delaware Qcom suit regarding whether FRAND precludes a patent holder from seeking certain damages or injunction. In 2004, NOK sought such damages-injunction against Vitelcom even though two of the patents were "essential."
(Please note, however, that it appears that NOK was unsuccessful and therefore it would normally not create a judicial estoppel precluding NOK from taking an inconsistent position in another lawsuit. Normally, the party must have obtained some benefit from the position to be precluded.) Perhaps someone can find some information on the Vitelcom lawsuit that will shed light.
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found this old press release so far:
Nokia files complaints against Vitelcom on patent infringements
November 04, 2004
Nokia Corporation announced today that it has filed patent infringement complaints against Vitelcom. These are European complaints involving Nokia patents covering GSM and GPRS technologies. Nokia seeks injunctions against the continued sale and marketing of Vitelcom's mobile phone products covered by the patents in suit and/or monetary damages.
"Nokia has invested considerable time, energy and resources in its own R&D, which has yielded many significant inventions and allowed Nokia to build one of the industry's largest portfolios of technology patents," said Ilkka Rahnasto, Vice President, IPR, Nokia. "Vitelcom should play by the rules and licence needed intellectual property. In this situation, it has become necessary to take the dispute to the courts. We believe Vitelcom is using Nokia patented technologies without authority from or compensation to Nokia."
Nokia is the leading patent owner for GSM and GPRS technologies. Nokia has a particularly strong patent portfolio for improved voice quality, mobile data and usability of mobile phones. Nokia has a licensing program to allow new manufacturers to make GSM and GPRS phones at fair and reasonable licensing terms.
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[March 19, 2007]
Vitelcom closes its doors (Vitelcom cierra "por falta de pedidos de Telefonica")
(Expansion Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Yesterday, Vitelcom, the only Spanish-owned mobile handset manufacturer, submitted a redundancy plan which will see the 400 employees at its plant in the Spanish province of Malaga lose their jobs. Vitelcom is also preparing to submit a request for suspension of payments. Vitelcom has seen a sharp decline its business in the last few years: from 2004 to 2006, its annual turnover fell from 311m euros to 80m euros.
Carlos Carrero, the chairman of Vitelcom since it was founded in 2000, has attributed the closure of the firm to the fact that 'the lack of orders from (Spanish telecommunications group) Telefonica has made it unsustainable to keep its doors open. Moreover, the lack of a commitment from Telefonica has meant we have not been able to close out an acquisition agreement with Sentex Sensing Technologies'. Less than three weeks ago, this US firm signed an agreement in principle to buy Vitelcom's French and Mexican subsidiaries for 87m euros, including debt.
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Nokia and Vitelcom resolve patent disputes
January 24, 2005
Espoo, Finland - Nokia, headquartered in Finland, and Vitelcom, headquartered in Spain, announced today that they have agreed to settle pending lawsuits between them before the Spanish and German Courts.
The companies have entered into a royalty bearing patent licence agreement covering certain Nokia patents relating to the GSM/GPRS Mobile Communication Standard and the grant of a cross licence to Nokia under Vitelcom patents in the same field.
About Nokia
Nokia is a leading owner of essential patents for GSM and GPRS technologies. It has a particularly strong patent portfolio for improved voice quality, mobile data and usability of mobile phones. Nokia has an essential patent licensing program to allow new manufacturers to make GSM and GPRS phones at fair and reasonable licensing terms.
Nokia is a world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth and sustainability of the broader mobility industry. Nokia connects people to each other and the information that matters to them with easy-to-use and innovative products like mobile phones, devices and solutions for imaging, games, media and businesses. Nokia provides equipment, solutions and services for network operators and corporations. www.nokia.com
About Vitelcom
Vitelcom Mobile Technology is a Spanish company established in the Technological Park of Andalusia (Málaga/Spain), whose principal activity is the design, development and manufacture of mobile telephones relying on solutions based on GSM/GPRS/EDGE and other technologies.
Vitelcom is the first European manufacturer of i-mode (*) handsets, leading different segments of the mobile telecommunications industry. Vitelcom has R&D centers in Spain, France and India and commercializes its products in more than twenty countries.
(*) i-mode is a trade mark from NTT DoCoMo
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