No sooner has Qualcomm tied up a briefcase full of patent litigation with Broadcom, than Nokia has weighed in with a raft of European suits against the CDMA vendor.

Qualcomm and Nokia already have outstanding Qualcomm-initiated litigation working its way through the courts.

Nokia said if its suits succeed, "Qualcomm would be prevented in Europe from enforcing its respective patents in relation to Nokia handsets incorporating such chipsets".

The chipsets in question are produced under TI's patent portfolio licenses with Qualcomm – an agreement that has itself been the subject of litigation between TI and Qualcomm.

Nokia's barrage of legal paper aeroplanes was launched while Qualcomm's lawyers were basking in the post coital glow of tying up some long-running litigation with Broadcom. The deal saw Qualcomm dismiss a series of cases against Broadcom in the San Diego courts, while Broadcom dismissed its counterclaims.

The companies still have a few legal cases to thrash out, including Broadcom's claims of patent infringement against Qualcomm in the Santa Ana district court, and in the US International Trade Commission, and Broadcom's anti-trust claim against Qualcomm. At the same time, Qualcomm has an ongoing patent infringement claim against Broadcom. ®

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