Nokia, Qualcomm in Patent Spat

By Ed Oswald | Published August 9, 2006, 3:24 PM

Nokia said Wednesday it had filed a complaint against Qualcomm in a Delaware court, asking it to force the mobile technology company to abide by its contractual obligations. The Finnish phone manufacturer accuses Qualcomm of not licensing GSM and UMTS technology on FRAND, or "fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory" terms. Along with the request, Nokia is also asking the court for injunctive relief in relation to patent infringement litigation surrounding technologies related to those standards.

Qualcomm has filed three separate legal actions against Nokia in U.S. Federal Court, a British Court and with the International Trade Commission, the company said. "Nokia is taking this action as a defensive measure to ensure there is a consolidated forum for addressing these issues," Qualcomm said in a statement. Through the court request, Nokia said it hoped to "solidify a framework for future intellectual property licensing negotiations."