Nokia faces unfair practice probe

The US International Trade Commission has launched an investigation into whether or not Finland's Nokia and its US unit have engaged in unfair trade practices and infringed upon six Qualcomm patents, an Associated Press report said.

The report, quoting Qualcomm, said Qualcomm was seeking an exclusion order to bar importation of Nokia handsets that infringed Qualcomm patents.

Qualcomm also sought a cease-and-desist order to bar further sales of Nokia products that had already been imported, and to halt the marketing, advertising, demonstration and stocking of inventory for distribution in the US, the report said.

In June, Qualcomm, a developer of a technology platform used in mobile phone chips, said it filed a complaint with the US ITC, and it expected investigation of the complaint to begin in July and to be tried in the first half of 2007.

A Nokia official, however, dismissed the suit, saying "it has no merit."