Qualcomm Wins A Patent Case Against Nokia In HollandQualcomm Wins A Patent Case Against Nokia In Holland

The marathon patent litigation between Qualcomm and Nokia reached a waypoint of sorts Wednesday when a Dutch court dismissed a Nokia claim against Qualcomm. However, as many as 20 additional disputes between the two mobile providers remain unresolved. According to Qualcomm, the District Court in the Hague dismissed the Nokia complaint.

The court indicated it didn't have enough data on the issues and that Nokia was "too abstract" and "too theoretical" in the documents it filed against Qualcomm.

"It is obvious that Nokia was trying to weaken Qualcomm's position in our licensing negotiations and they failed," said Don Rosenberg, executive VP and general counsel of Qualcomm, in a statement. "This is the second time in as many months that a court in Europe has rejected Nokia's attempts to have a declaration of exhaustion against Qualcomm's patents." Previously, a German court had ruled in Qualcomm's favor on similar Nokia claims against Qualcomm.

A Nokia spokesperson indicated the firm could appeal the Dutch decision after it is studied. "Nokia is confident that its substantive claim is well founded and is considering if it will appeal the decision," the spokesperson said, in a statement.

The two firms have been embroiled in lengthy and voluminous litigation with each other for months; Nokia has complained that Qualcomm charges too much for access to its patents and, in addition, Nokia has built up its own patent portfolio in recent years.