Nokia, HTC win key European ruling against IPCom
The European Patent Office says intellectual property that IPCom is using against Nokia and HTC is actually invalid in its current form.
Nokia and HTC had a rare bit of good news to celebrate today.
The European Patent Office earlier today announced that a patent Germany-based IPCom has been citing in legal battles with the handset makers is invalid in its current form. According to Reuters, which first reported on the story, the patent relates to a mobile device's first connection to a network.
The patent office's ruling comes just days after a Mannheim regional court judge ruled that Nokia had been violating a mobile patent IPCom holds related to emergency services. However, that ruling cited outdated Nokia models as the issue; newer devices from the company don't use the same technology.
IPCom has been battling with HTC and Nokia for months now. The company, which holds a host of mobile patents, last year sent cease-and-desist letters to HTC retail and wholesale partners, warning them to stop selling the handset maker's products. Months prior, IPCom won a ruling in the U.K. High Court against Nokia over a patent related to 3G.
For its part, IPCom told Reuters that it will appeal today's ruling, adding that it won't affect previous court decisions on its cases against Nokia and HTC.