It's war time again, and this time between Nokia and Android, Google, and HTC. Android's tethering feature which enables mobile phones to work as network routers to share Internet connection with portable computers is likely to infringe Nokia's patent. Google and HTC were just defeated by Nokia on claim construction in respect to the proper legal interpretation of the patent on "method for making a data transmission connection from a computer to a mobile communication network for transmission of analog and/or digital systems."
U.S. can issue an import ban against HTC's Android devices if Google and HTC are unable to deny infringement at the trial by proving the patent invalid based on prior art.
There is a long an tortuous trial ahead as this is only one of 40 patents Nokia has carded against HTC. If Nokia is able to hold leverage and prove infringement, this can be a big win for Nokia as its a feature that is used in dozens of devices, including Samsung.
Androids and iOS technology has pretty much dominated the mobile market that Nokia was a big part of only a few years back. Surprisingly tethering technology seemed to be an Android innovation, but it turns out that Nokia filed a patent on the core concept over a decade ago.
This is definitely really interesting as it interweaves with our concepts in class on how important it is to choose careful wording when filing a patent.
This one patent among the 40 others can definitely bring Nokia back into the Mobile scene.
I think this is a solid example of how even though Google has become an industry titan in software, it still have significant disadvantages compared to legacy companies with stronger patent portfolios that were created in the 1990s. Although Nokia has lost its grip on the mobile market, it seems like they are still able to sustain themselves through meager sales and lucrative patent licensing deals.
ReplyDeleteI think that Christopher makes a great point above, regarding Google's patent portfolio disadvantage compared to others in the mobile industry. Nokia seems to be relying more and more on patent suits and the damages that result from them to shore up its revenues, rather than on manufacturing and attempting to compete in the market.
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