* Sues HTC, ViewSonic in United States
* Sues HTC, RIM, ViewSonic in Germany
* Files complaint to U.S. ITC against HTC
* Nokia seeking to raise more revenues from patents
(Adds analyst’s comment, details)
By Tarmo Virki
HELSINKI, May 2 (Reuters) – Wounded cellphone maker Nokia
has turned on one of its former allies in the patent protection
battlefield by filing lawsuits against rival smartphone maker
HTC as it steps up its efforts to raise funds.
Nokia filed several lawsuits covering 45 hardware and
software patents, ranging from power management to data
encryption technologies in Germany against HTC, Canadian
counterpart Research In Motion and tablet-maker
ViewSonic.
In the United States it filed against HTC and ViewSonic,
including a complaint to U.S. International Trade Commission
(ITC) against HTC.
The moves follow Nokia’s comments last month that it will
seek to raise more revenues from its patent portfolio.
It is also a departure from its alliance with HTC when it
had for years fought alongside the Taiwanese company in patent
battles against German patent firm IPCom.
Nokia’s announcement comes on the same day a court in
Germany ruled that Microsoft had infringed Motorola
Mobility’s patents ordering the world’s largest software
maker to remove its popular Xbox 360 gaming consoles and Windows
7 operating system software from the German market.
Last week, ratings agencies Fitch and Standard Poor’s cut
Nokia’s credit rating to “junk” status, as the company battles
falling sales as well as doubts over its product strategy.
Nokia has one of the widest patent portfolios in the
industry, along with Ericsson and Qualcomm.
It has gone through two major legal battles over the past years,
first against Qualcomm and then against Apple.
“Nokia proved the enormous strength of its patent portfolio
by getting Apple to pay up after a protracted and acrimonious
battle in multiple courts,” said patent expert and blogger
Florian Mueller.
“HTC and ViewSonic are patent lightweights compared to Apple
and can’t possibly win against Nokia,” he said.
HTC, RIM and ViewSonic were not immediately available to
comment.
(Reporting By Tarmo Virki, Eero Vassinen and Sinead Carew;
Editing by Mike Nesbit)
