The ITC Rules (Again) in InterDigital v. Nokia
>> InterDigital Receives Notice That Commission Found No Violation of Section 337 in ITC Patent Infringement Action against Nokia
InterDigital Press Release
King Of Prussia, Pa., USA
October 16, 2009
tiny.cc
InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDCC) today announced that, in the U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) investigation initiated by InterDigital against Nokia, the Commission issued a notice that it reviewed in part the Initial Determination (ID) by the Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) and found no violation of Section 337 and has terminated the investigation. In the ID, the ALJ found InterDigital's patents valid and enforceable, but also determined that the patents were not infringed by Nokia's 3G products.
"We strongly disagree with the Commission's decision. We believe in the merits of our case and are considering a number of options in response to the Commission's decision," said William J. Merritt, President and Chief Executive Officer, InterDigital. "Moreover, these patents represent only a small portion of our intellectual property portfolio. As I've said before, this decision is clearly not the desired outcome, but it does help us identify how to strengthen our portfolio and licensing program moving forward. We remain confident of achieving our goal of licensing all manufacturers of 3G terminal units, as evidenced by our very recent license agreements with Pantech and Cinterion."
The ITC action originated in August 2007, when InterDigital filed a complaint with the ITC alleging that Nokia engaged in unfair trade practices by selling for importation into the United States, importing, and selling after importation, certain 3G handsets and components that infringe four of InterDigital's U.S. patents. ###
>> U.S. International Trade Commission Confirms Ruling In Favor of Nokia
Nokia Press Release
New York, NY, United States
October 17, 2009
nokia.com
Nokia announced today that the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) has reviewed the Administrative Law Judge's (ALJ) Initial Determination in favor of Nokia, in the action brought by InterDigital. Following the review, the Commission has affirmed the ALJ's Initial Determination and terminated the investigation.
Nokia is delighted with this outcome. Not only did the Commission conclude that Nokia products do not infringe InterDigital's patents, but it also withdrew the portion of the ALJ's Initial Determination that had found the patents valid.
The case, filed by InterDigital, alleged that Nokia infringed four patents that InterDigital asserted as essential for the UMTS (3G) mobile standard. Today's result is consistent with a previous judgement in the United Kingdom that found several InterDigital patents not to be essential to the UMTS mobile standard. ###
>> ITC Again Supports Nokia as Not Infringing Interdigital’s Patents
eCommerce Journal
October 19, 2009
1rvy.sl.pt
Nokia was again found as not infringing patents belonging to InterDigital. The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has upheld its previous decision in favor of Nokia in a patent case launched against the mobile phone maker by wireless technology company InterDigital. The patents allegedly infringed by Nokia are related to the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) mobile standard. Earlier when ITC provided its guidance in August InterDigital disagreed with the decision and called for the full Commission to review the case. The Commission satisfied the request and concluded again that Nokia didn’t infringe any patent. Besides, the Commission also withdrew the portion of the so-called Initial Determination that had found the patents valid. Meanwhile, InterDigital does not plan to cease its pursuits. It still believes that the decision is unfair and is considering other options to dispute the ruling. The company didn’t elaborate on these options. ###
- Eric - |
