Nokia has moved to take advantage of Qualcomm's legal woes by applying for a US import ban on devices containing Qualcomm chips.
Nokia has asked the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to prohibit Qualcomm chipsets from landing in the US, alleging that five of its CDMA and W-CDMA/GSM patents have been infringed.
Nokia's application comes after a series of legal setbacks for Qualcomm, which is already under an ITC ban on the import of some chips after losing a case against Broadcom. The case is now being appealed.
Nokia said in a statement that the patents related to technologies critical to the performance of mobile devices. 'These technologies are important to Nokia's success as they allow its products to have competitive advantages over those of competitors,' Nokia said.
The dispute between the two mobile industry technology leaders has sharpened since a 15-year-old patent licensing agreement expired in April. Under the agreement, Nokia had been paying Qualcomm a reported $500 million in license fees. It is seeking to substantially lower the amount it pays to the US firm.
Each vendor has filed suits against the other, claiming patent infringement in GSM, CDMA and W-CDMA standards.
An application by Qualcomm to the ITC to ban the import of Nokia GSM phones will be heard next month.