Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NOK) Wins Patent Case vs. HTC

Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) is proud of its patented technology, especially those patents that are designed to save power in its handsets. While there has been much ado surrounding patents battles between Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Nokia has been involved in a series of courtroom battles against handset competitor HTC over several patents, including the power-saving tech patent.

In a German courtroom this week, Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) posted a victory over HTC over the German version of the patent, as the court ruled that HTC did infringe the patent with three of its handset models. With this victory, Nokia won a sales injunction against HTC for those handset models – all of which, however, are no longer being sold in Germany, according to an HTC spokesman.

However, while this might not mean much in the country of Germany, it may at least provide some guidance or precedent for Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK), which has patent cases pending against HTC in the U.K. and the U.S. at the International Trade Commission, where Nokia is asking for import bans on the HTC handsets in the Germany case and may pursue additional bans on other handsets it claims infringe the power-saving patent. Nokia currently claims the patent in seven countries and Hong Kong, according to spokesman Mark Durrant.

“It’s really now down to HTC to end its unauthorized use of Nokia’s innovations in this and the more than 30 further cases asserted against it,” Durrant said.

In a statement, HTC said it “has removed any allegedly corresponding functionality from all of its current German handsets as a precaution against any attempt by Nokia to extend the scope of the judgment unfairly.”

What do you think? Let us know your thoughts about this HTC-Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) patent battle. Do you think this will affect the marketplace worldwide, or in the U.S. in particular?

DISCLOSURE: I own no positions in any stock mentioned.

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