Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) is apparently not a friend of HTC on Facebook, or anywhere else. To say there is no love lost between these two handset manufacturers would be an insult to lost love. But the funny thing is, the animosity appears to be going in one direction, while the other side is just playing antagonist. It is almost as if this is a sibling rivalry, though one brother is Finnish an the other Taiwanese.
The latest salvo to be fired occurred this week, when Nokia filed a new lawsuit claiming that the HTC One as well as a stable of other HTC handsets, are infringing on three Nokia patents that address what is call handset radio frequency identification that is used for applications. This new lawsuit is demanding damages and for HTC to stop the infringement in its handsets.
Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) also reported that it had filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission about other infringements that involve six other patents. In that environment, Nokia would be seeking a U.S. import ban on all HTC handsets that are found to be infringing.
All told, Nokia stated that it has now accused or is accusing HTC of infringing on 50 different patents across the several court cases that have been resolved, filed or are in the process. This whole thing started when Nokia filed suit against HTC last year in the U.S. and Germany.
For the most part, the German court has sided with Nokia, though HTC did win a couple of legal battles in that country in March. But when that ruling was handed down, Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) said it would continue pursuing cases on 34 other patents – not counting the nine introduced in the motions this week, as we understand it.
Of course, HTC has limited comment at this point, saying only, “Upon receiving the official document, HTC is to consider all legal options to protect our rights.”
What are the rights that HTC has, which have been challenged before?
HTC is certainly no stranger to run-ins with other smartphone companies. Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) just happens to be the latest. HTC came out on the short end of an ITC ruling when it was found to be infringing on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) patents.
HTC was facing an import ban on its phones, and shipments had to go through a U.S. Customs inspection to ensure the handsets were compliant with the ITC order. Of course, HTC is practically being banned from store shelves with the HTC First (the so-called “Facebook phone”) posting such abysmal sales numbers that carriers like AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) have already discontinued their sale after less than two months on the market.
Maybe the only rights HTC could be fighting for might be its right to copy other designs. We shall see.
What are your thoughts about this Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) dispute with HTC? How does continual pursuit of this benefit Nokia in the long run? Give us your feedback in the comments section below.
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