German court puts Qualcomm-Nokia case on hold

HELSINKI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - A German court has put on hold Tuesday on a case in which U.S. chip maker Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) is suing Nokia (NOK1V.HE), claiming the world's top cellphone maker is infringing two of its GSM patents, Nokia said. Following Qualcomm's request, the District Court of Duesseldorf ordered a stay of the infringement proceedings until further notice, Nokia said.

"Nokia remains confident in its defence and continues to be ready to prove that the alleged patents are invalid and not infringed," Nokia said.

Qualcomm was not immediately available for comment.

Qualcomm has also sued Nokia for the same patented technologies in Britain, France and Italy. The U.S. International Trade Commission also started hearings this week to determine if Nokia infringed three of Qualcomm's patents in GSM technology, the world's most widely used wireless technology standard, owned by Qualcomm.

The two companies have been wrangling over a key cross-licensing agreement over technology patents that expired in April 2007, and their battle is worrying investors and the industry on both sides of the Atlantic.

Analysts estimate Nokia has paid Qualcomm around $500 million per year and now plans to get a better deal. Nokia says its patent portfolio is much stronger now than 15 years ago, when the original cross-licensing deal was signed.

In June, the ITC ruled that Qualcomm infringed a Broadcom Corp (BRCM.O) patent and banned imports of some new advanced cell phones using Qualcomm's chips.

For a chronology on legal battles between Nokia and Qualcomm, see [ID:nL17223451].