Nokia: Qualcomm Filed New Complaint Over GSM Patents

Nokia, the Finland-based mobile phone producer, on Monday said Qualcomm, a provider of wireless technologies for mobiles, filed a new complaint against it regarding six Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) patents, marking the most recent action in the two companies’ legal spat over intellectual property, Reuters reports.

Nokia said it will respond “as necessary” to Qualcomm’s filing, which was logged with the U.S. International Trade Commission, according to Reuters.

Nokia said the new action is the third such complaint filed against it by Qualcomm in the past eight months, and it thinks the patents at issue in the most recent complaint were covered by a past licensing deal, Reuters reports.

Talks between the two companies about extending an existing licensing agreement, which is set to expire in April 2007, are currently under way, according to Reuters.

“These repetitive legal actions, over GSM technologies that have been in the market for many years, reflect Qualcomm’s concern over the current 3G UMTS [Universal Mobile Telecommunication System] patent negotiations,” a Nokia representative told Reuters.

UMTS is a third-generation communications system, Reuters reports.

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