Apple and Samsung have been at each others throats for some time and Ericsson recently joined the fray, now Nokia is laying the groundwork for getting BlackBerry devices banned from sale in the US, UK and Canada.
The latest shot to be fired in the mobile patent wars concerns so-called standards-essential patents, with Nokia looking for an injunction against the sale of BlackBerry devices in the States which feature wireless functions related to patents that have yet to have royalty amounts agreed upon.
A Nokia spokesperson, speaking to The Guardian, said:
Nokia and RIM agreed a cross-licence for standards-essential cellular patents in 2003, which was amended in 2008. In 2011, RIM sought arbitration, arguing that the license extended beyond cellular essentials. In November 2012, the arbitration tribunal ruled against RIM. It found that RIM was in breach of contract and is not entitled to manufacture or sell WLAN products without first agreeing royalties with Nokia. In order to enforce the Tribunal’s ruling, we have now filed actions in the US, UK and Canada with the aim of ending RIM’s breach of contract.”
The timing for RIM is hardly ideal at the moment, coming so close to the launch of BlackBerry 10. When questioned, RIM declined to comment.
Source: The Guardian
