Reuters: Technology News: Nokia files patent lawsuits against HTC, RIM

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Nokia files patent lawsuits against HTC, RIM May 2nd 2012, 15:34 By Tarmo Virki HELSINKI | Wed May 2, 2012 11:21am EDT HELSINKI (Reuters) - Wounded cellphone maker Nokia has turned on one of its former allies in the patent protection battlefield by filing lawsuits against rival smartphone maker HTC as it steps up its efforts to raise funds. Nokia filed several lawsuits covering 45 hardware and software patents, ranging from power management to data encryption technologies in Germany against HTC, Canadian counterpart Research In Motion and tablet-maker ViewSonic. In the United States it filed against HTC and ViewSonic, including a complaint to U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) against HTC. The moves follow Nokia's comments last month that it will seek to raise more revenues from its patent portfolio. It is also a departure from its alliance with HTC when it had for years fought alongside the Taiwanese company in patent battles against German patent firm IPCom. Nokia's announcement comes on the same day a court in Germany ruled that Microsoft had infringed Motorola Mobility's patents ordering the world's largest software maker to remove its popular Xbox 360 gaming consoles and Windows 7 operating system software from the German market. Last week, ratings agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor's cut Nokia's credit rating to "junk" status, as the company battles falling sales as well as doubts over its product strategy. Nokia has one of the widest patent portfolios in the industry, along with Ericsson and Qualcomm. It has gone through two major legal battles over the past years, first against Qualcomm and then against Apple. "Nokia proved the enormous strength of its patent portfolio by getting Apple to pay up after a protracted and acrimonious battle in multiple courts," said patent expert and blogger Florian Mueller. "HTC and ViewSonic are patent lightweights compared to Apple and can't possibly win against Nokia," he said. HTC, RIM and ViewSonic were not immediately available to comment. (Reporting By Tarmo Virki, Eero Vassinen and Sinead Carew; Editing by Mike Nesbit) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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