Nokia Loses In Smartphone Patent RulingNokia Loses In Smartphone Patent Ruling

InterDigital Communications Corp. has come out a winner in a legal battle with handset maker Nokia Corp., marking the latest development in a string of patent disputes plaguing the mobile-device industry.

InterDigital, a Pennsylvania-based provider of wireless technology, said late Wednesday that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District Court of New York ruled in favor of InterDigital in a patent dispute. As a result, Nokia must pay it between $232 and $252 million in royalties, according to InterDigital.

InterDigital and Nokia signed a licensing agreement in January 1999. Nokia allegedly owes InterDigital royalties for 2G and 2.5G handsets and network equipment sold between January 2002 and December 2006, InterDigital said.

A ruling to pay the royalties was issued by the Arbitral Tribunal of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in June, but was disputed by Nokia.

"With yet another legal challenge dismissed, we are hopeful that Nokia will finally comply with its signed license agreement with InterDigital. If not, we will continue to pursue all legal remedies to secure payment," said InterDigital's CEO William Merritt in a statement.

Visto Inc., a mobile E-mail software company, filed a federal lawsuit earlier this month claiming Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5.0 violates its patent covering how mobile devices retrieve E-mail from behind company firewalls. Visto also signed a licensing agreement with NTP, which is embroiled in a legal battle with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion over patents.