Qualcomm sues Nokia over patents in Britain

Reuters.com reports that Qualcomm (QCOM) has filed a suit against Nokia (NOK) "alleging the company had infringed on two Qualcomm patents in Britain." The new suit "extends a U.S. patent suit Qualcomm, a supplier of wireless chips and technology licenses, filed in November against Nokia, the world's biggest maker of cell phones." In addition, "Nokia is one of a group of companies that complained to European regulators about Qualcomm's competitive practices."

Albert Lin at American Technology Research believed "Qualcomm would likely use the latest lawsuit as a bargaining tool in its negotiations with Nokia." He said, "I think they're using something they didn't care so much in the past to increase pressure on Nokia to continue business relationships on similar terms to what they've enjoyed until now. Nokia has made these kind of moves too ... this is a normal back and forth that takes place."

According to the article, Qualcomm "was seeking an injunction against Nokia in Britain as well as damages over phones that have already been sold that use the patented technology. The dispute relates to GSM, GPRS and EDGE products."