Trade Commission staff backs Nokia in patent dispute with Apple

The staff of the U.S. International Trade Commission has sided with Nokia and said that Apple has not provided enough evidence to establish a patent violation, according to a new memo.

Staff of the ITC is a third-party in the case, and does not necessarily represent a final outcome in the patent lawsuit, as noted by Bloomberg. But it is an early victory for Nokia, which is engaged in a major legal battle with Apple that is expected to last for years.

Nokia has challenged assertions that it infringes on Apple-owned patents related to the iPhone. It is also attempting to convince the commission that Apple's patents are invalid.

Apple has accused Nokia of infringing on 13 patents related to a variety of technologies, including graphical user interface and booting of a handset. Apple has also accused Nokia of attempting to obtain more money from it than other companies, and is attempting to obtain special licensing terms for patents related to open standards.

But ITC staff has determined that "some aspects" of Apple's patents are invalid, while others were not infringed upon by Nokia. Judge Charles Bullock is not, however, obligated to follow the staff's position in his findings, scheduled for release in February 2011.

The ITC trial began this week in Washington, and Apple has asked the commission to block the import of Nokia phones into the U.S. In addition, Nokia has its own separate suit filed with the ITC against Apple, and that trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 29.

The legal battle between Nokia and Apple is just one of a number currently underway in the highly competitive wireless industry. Just last week, Apple countersued Motorola, as each company has accused the other of patent violations.

Earlier this year, Apple also sued HTC, alleging that handsets running Google's Android mobile operating system are in violation of 20 iPhone-related patents. "We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it," Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said. "We've decided to do something about it."

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23 Comments

celemourn

said about 13 years ago

"We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented violations, or we can do something about it,"

Is that REALLY an accurate quote??????

C

aplnub

said about 13 years ago

Any idea on how a patent that was approved can be invalid? I am clueless on this stuff.

al_bundy

said about 13 years ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by aplnub

Any idea on how a patent that was approved can be invalid? I am clueless on this stuff.

patent clerks are overworked and can't be expected to know everything about everything

charlituna

said about 13 years ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by aplnub

Any idea on how a patent that was approved can be invalid? I am clueless on this stuff.

One way would be to show that Apple received a patent for something that someone else has a prior patent for. That can fall apart if Apple's version isn't exactly like the original. Vast improvement is patentable even if it is based on someone else's patent. So say, by way of example, that Nokia patents using a touch screen interface that requires a stylus. But then Apple improves that by patenting a touch screen interface that works with a stylus or just a finger, AND has the ability to read multiple points of contact. Apple has made a new thing and can patent it (a lot of idea patents are superceded in this way by patents of actually technology to make the idea work)

Another way is to simply to argue that the patent is just an idea. Or that Apple isn't the progenitor of the tech (just the ones to get to the patent office first).

It's all a complex mess really. In the end the important thing to note is that this is not a legally binding call and the Judge can ignore the ITC. And hopefully Apple has proof of the licensing allegations because that's a key point in their argument. Because one thing that is in patent law is that you have to give equal treatment to all licensees. Which they are saying Nokia did not.

And it is worth noting that some of these patents are the same ones Nokia was sued over and lost and now they are jointly owned. So if Apple can prove that they paid to the group, and Nokia asked for additional payments, it won't look good for Nokia