Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2010/11/03/itc_apple_vs_nokia/

ITC to side with Nokia against Apple

Insider claims evidence doesn't show patent infringement

By Tony Smith

Posted in Personal Tech, 3rd November 2010 15:05 GMT

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has reportedly found that Nokia hasn't infringed the patents that Apple claimed the Finnish phone giant had trodden all over.

Or, rather, the evidence presented by Apple doesn't indicate infringement, an ITC insider said yesterday, Bloomberg reports.

That's not to say Nokia didn't behave as Apple has accused, only that the iPhone maker needs to a better job of demonstrating that it can show there was such an infringement.

"The evidence will not establish a violation," said the insider.

According to the mole, some parts of the patents listed by Apple are invalid, and that others were not infringed upon.

Apple alleges that Nokia infringed four patents it holds. It has asked the ITC to assess the claim with a view to banning the import into the US of Nokia smartphones - if the Commission judges Apple's allegation to be correct.

Nokia, in turn, has claimed Apple infringed some of its patents and has likewise asked the ITC to weigh in on the matter.

Patent battles increasingly involve the ITC. The combatants hope the organisation will reach a speedier verdict that the lawcourts, siding with them to provide leverage in their pre-trial negotiations with their opponents.

The ITC is due to formally rule on Apple's claims in February. ®