Nokia Loses Appeal in 3G Patent Lawsuits

According to InterDigital, it has won an appeal against an earlier verdict that Nokia had not infringed its 3G patents.

Back in July, 2011, InterDigital filed the complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking to block Nokia, Huawei, and ZTE from importing products that InterDigital said infringe on seven of its patents. Specifically, InterDigital is asked the ITC to disallow the offenders from importing phones, USB laptop dongles, mobile hotspots, and tablets that operate with either 3G WCDMA or 3G CDMA technology.

The Federal Circuit held that the Commission had been mistaken in interpreting certain claim terms in InterDigital’s patents. Those interpretations, which had led to the Commission’s finding of no infringement and therefore no violation as to the two patents that were the subject of the appeal, were reversed.

InterDigital says that the Federal Circuit adopted its interpretation of the claim terms at issue and remanded the case back to the Commission for further proceedings. In addition, the Federal Circuit rejected Nokia’s argument that InterDigital did not satisfy the domestic industry requirement, which is required to obtain relief from the Commission.

By rule, Nokia and the Commission have 45 days to petition for rehearing of the Federal Circuit’s decision and may petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari within 90 days after entry of the judgment or a request for rehearing is denied, whichever is later.

If successfully sent back to the US ITC, then InterDigital said that it will seek an exclusion order barring entry into the USA of all infringing Nokia products employing 3G WCDMA technology.