It’s that time again folks, where Patent Litigation looms in the mobile industry. This time around the once-great Nokia are involved with patent disputes with HTC and ViewSonic. Nokia are ready to defend their Intellectual Property in the U.S. Courts like never before and have claimed that around 45 patents are being infringed upon by parties HTC and ViewSonic. A scheduling order recently stated that summary judgments on the case won’t be held until at least October 10th 2014. But now, the U.S. Courts look like they want this case to be wrapped up a lot sooner and preferably through mediation.
Waiting until 2014 for a judgment is a long wait for Nokia who’re looking to defend their patents as best they can in order to stay afloat. It’s been rumored that RIM’s license-bearing settlement with the Finnish company were what helped their Q4 2012 results – along with an okay number of Lumia 920s being sold. Nokia are no troll in the industry and if RIM a recognize their strong patent portfolio then perhaps HTC and ViewSonic – who have little in the way of patents comparable to Nokia – should settle, just the same.
Whether or not the parties can come to some sort of agreement could come down to the watchful eye of Magistrate Judge Christopher J. Burke who will be overseeing mediation. The District Court of Delaware Judge Leonard P. Stark has referred the parties to mediation. Settlements are often common in this sort of thing and with Nokia’s excellent Patent Portfolio in this field, HTC and ViewSonic might be wise to come to some sort of agreement with Nokia. After all, parties know that a trial won’t happen for another two years or so and even if it did, it would take a lot to prove infringement through claim construction hearings and discovery hearing.
We suppose that what it all comes down to is whether or not HTC and ViewSonic want to be locked into a dispute with Nokia spanning two years or so. These things never move quickly and HTC, in particular, should want to get Nokia off of their backs before 2013 starts in earnest for the fledgling handset manufactueer.
[Source FOSS Patents]