UPDATE 3-Nokia wins UK court ruling over Qualcomm

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By Tarmo Virki

HELSINKI, March 3 (Reuters) - Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's top mobile phone maker, won its second patent case against U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in a week on Monday, sending Qualcomm shares down 3 percent.

Qualcomm had claimed that Nokia had infringed two of its European patents in mobile phones based on the widely used GSM cell phone technology and had asked the British High Court to stop Nokia selling products in Britain that use the patents.

But in a harshly worded ruling, Justice Floyd said that the first patent was invalid, citing a "lack of novelty" and "obviousness," and said that four claims on the second patent were invalid for "lack of inventive step."

Avian Securities analyst Tero Kuittinen said that the UK verdict may hurt any hopes of a settlement by Nokia in a crucial upcoming U.S. case related to patents for W-CDMA, a high-speed mobile technology that is increasing in popularity.

"This might mean that Nokia is emboldened to pursue the W-CDMA case. It doesn't have an incentive to settle," Kuittinen said, adding that some investors had hoped for a settlement.

Qualcomm shares were down 2.6 percent in late morning trade on Nasdaq. Nokia shares were down 3.3 percent in Europe.

The companies have been at legal loggerheads since failing to renew a technology license pact that expired on April 9, 2007. Analysts estimate that Nokia pays around $500 million a year for use of Qualcomm patents and it wants to reduce the sum.