QUALCOMM v. Nokia: The UK Geographical Extension
Slacker,
<< It looks like at least one of the patents involved in the ITC case is also part of the UK case....the '473 patent covering reverse link power control. This is from the initial complaint filing by Qualcomm in front of the ITC. ... 1 1.2 QUALCOMM v. Nokia Corp., High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, Patents Court, Claim No. HC 06C02034: On May 24,2006, QUALCOMM filed a patent infringement action against Nokia in the United Kingdom. QUALCOMM is asserting that the defendant infringes two patents assigned to QUALCOMM, including EP695482(B l), the foreign counterpart to the '473 patent, asserted in this Complaint.>>
As always, thanks for being on top of things, and for that advisement, and it is as I suspected.
As you've probably noticed the ETSI IP database is a bit tricky to search. Searching on the patent title 'Reverse Link, Transmit Power Correction' in that database turns up patent number 0695482 (European Patent Office, SPAIN, FRANCE, UNITED KINGDOM, ITALY, SWEDEN) and shows these patents in the same family ...
5,452,473 UNITED STATES
674475 AUSTRALIA
PI9505674-2 BRAZIL
2158577 CANADA
2275156 CANADA
69520812.8 GERMANY
0695482 European Patent Office, SPAIN, FRANCE, UNITED KINGDOM, ITALY, SWEDEN
FI112564 FINLAND
HK1011124 HONG KONG
187616 INDIA
3452930 JAPAN
208456 KOREA (REPUBLIC OF)
190441 MEXICO
ZL95190118.4 CHINA
2134018 RUSSIAN FEDERATION
520 VIET NAM
... and they were specifically declared for the ETSI and 3GPP GERAN project 3 weeks before the ECCC complaints by Nokia, Ericsson, et al, and were connected to 3GPP TS 45.008 and ETSI TS 145 008 2005-10-14 under QUALOCOMM patent number 5,590,408:
tinyurl.com
Like many if not most of QUALCOMM's patents this one specifically notes:
The SIGNATORY and/or its AFFILIATES hereby declare that they are prepared to grant irrevocable licenses under the IPRs on terms and conditions which are in accordance with Clause 6.1 of the ETSI IPR Policy, in respect of the STANDARD, to the extent that the IPRs remain ESSENTIAL.
¹ Section 6.1 states ...
6 Availability of Licenses
6.1 When an ESSENTIAL IPR relating to a particular STANDARD or TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION is brought to the attention of ETSI, the Director-General of ETSI shall immediately request the owner to give within three months an undertaking in writing that it is prepared to grant irrevocable licenses on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions under such IPR to at least the following extent:
• MANUFACTURE, including the right to make or have made customized components and sub-systems
to the licensee's own design for use in MANUFACTURE;
• sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of EQUIPMENT so MANUFACTURED;
• repair, use, or operate EQUIPMENT; and
• use METHODS.
The above undertaking may be made subject to the condition that those who seek licenses agree to reciprocate.
I strongly suspect we'll find that the other patent at issue in the UK was also declared as essential to GERAN on or about the same date, either in anticipation -- real or imagined -- of the forthcoming complaint to the ECCC by Broadcom, Ericsson, Matsushita, NEC, Nokia, and TI, or further action in the Lupin style against Broadcom -- or both. If it wasn't they'll have shot yet another toe off.
It might well be a European filing of QUALCOMM patent 6574211 (6/03/03) 'Method And Apparatus For High Rate Packet Data Transmission' [2005-10-14 GERAN]
While the landscape is changing, patent predators can still get away with things in some US District courts (San Diego e.g.) that they can't get away with in significantly more progressive courts specializing in patent law like that in England under Justice Pumfrey.
I doubt that Altman, Blecker, or Lupin, are dumb enough to wander into Justice Pumfrey's domain pleading the insanity defense or the ignorance of obligations defense for their IP Policy declarations to ETSI, 3GPP, or the ITU, that they made in June 1999 at the point of a shotgun.
BTW: The highly respected Vice Chancellor with a specialty in IP on Chancellor Chandler's court of equity here in Delaware is Donald Parsons (Georgetown Law) whose undergraduate degree at Lehigh was in electrical engineering. He is far right in this photo ...
Trivia: Marvin Blecker, QUALCOMM QTL's President, sold ~1/3rd of his remaining QCOM shares in the last week or so at $34 and change. Can't backtrack to the reference right now but I think Vicker's reported it. Don't tell our buddy Limtex though. He might read something in that isn't there and I'll have to refill his glass once again. <g>
Best,
- Eric - |
