Nokia litigates against Blackberry-maker over patents

HELSINKI—Finnish mobile giant Nokia said on Wednesday it had filed lawsuits in the US, Britain and Canada against Blackberry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) claiming it has breached patent agreements.

In the suit filed on Monday in a California court, seen by AFP, Nokia sought to enforce the ruling of a Swedish arbitration tribunal that said RIM can’t sell products equipped with local area network technology (WLAN) without first agreeing on royalties with the Finnish company.

“We have now filed actions in the US, UK and Canada with the aim of ending RIM’s breach of contract,” company spokesman Mark Durrant said in a statement.

The dispute arises from different interpretations of which technologies are covered by a licensing deal that allows RIM to use Nokia’s patents.

“Nokia and RIM agreed a cross-licence for standards-essential cellular patents in 2003, which was amended in 2008,” Durrant said.

“In 2011, RIM sought arbitration, arguing that the license extended beyond cellular essentials.”

In November this year, the arbitration tribunal of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce ruled against RIM, saying that the company was “in breach of contract and is not entitled to manufacture or sell WLAN products” without first agreeing on royalties, according to Nokia.

The group’s US lawsuit cites the New York Arbitration Convention, signed by Finland, Sweden, Canada and the US, which allows the rulings of arbitration tribunals to be applied in other countries.