ITC Staff Sides With Nokia in Apple Patent Dispute
The "evidence will not establish a violation" of any Apple patents in the case, the ITC investigative staff said Monday in a pre-hearing statement, but the judge doesn't have to follow the staff's recommendation.
Apple is seeking to ban imports of the devices from the world's largest mobile phone maker, including products that use the Symbian and S40 operating systems.
The trial against Nokia, which began Monday, is one of many skirmishes in the fiercely competitive smartphone industry. Along with its accusations against Nokia, Apple is sparring with Motorola Inc. and Taiwan's HTC Corp., makers of phones based on Google Inc.'s Android platform. And Microsoft Corp. sued Motorola last month, accusing it of violating Microsoft's patents in smartphones using Android.
The recent battles in the mobile market started in October 2009, when Nokia accused Apple of violating 10 patents with its iPhone. The Finnish cellphone giant, which earns royalty revenue from other cellphone makers, later followed up with claims against Apple's iPad.
Apple has countersued, accusing Nokia of infringing some of its patents, violating antitrust laws and breach of contract. Both companies deny the other's infringement allegations.
The ITC staff said on Monday that some of the Apple patents were invalid and others weren't infringed. But the statement said that if a judge determines Nokia violated patents, he should ban some Nokia phones from being imported into the U.S.
The judge's ruling is expected in February, and Nokia's suit against Apple is scheduled for trial beginning Nov. 29. Nokia declined to comment while Apple wasn't immediately available.
"Definitely, when you're in a case, it's better to have the staff on your side," said Eric Schweibenz, a partner at Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt specializing in patent litigation. That said, determinations by ITC judges often go in other directions, he said.
By SHARA TIBKEN
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