Texb
I do not believe that one panelist will have any control over the IDCC/Ericy documents. The judge has pretty much summed up the assessment of her clerks with regard to initial relevance. She is making IDCC and Ericy list the sealed documents from 2001 through the end of the litigation. Any matters regarding the patents will remain sealed unless she vacates her prior order which vacated all previous rulings with regard to the patent claims and infringement issued by Judge Sanders. If she maintains her present posture with regard to the patent claims, then Nok is out of luck in the arbitration process in its current challenge. As it stands right now, the patent claims of IDCC continue to be presumed valid and enforceable until ruled otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction. I do not believe that the arbitration panel has the jurisdiction to make such rulings. If Judge Lynn reverses her present stance and reinstates the previous rulings of Judge Sanders, then I believe that the IDCC/Ericy litigation must be placed back on the docket because very material terms of the settlement which included the mutual dismissal of all claims of the parties has not occurred. IDCC would be left with adverse rulings regarding certain patent claims without the ability to appeal same.
As far as where in my range of royalty liability the decision of the panel will fall, I just do not have enough information for a reasonable prediction at this time. I believe that the years 1999 through 2002 will be the key and the panel's interpretation of the language contained in the 1999 license with respect to concessionary effects in conjunction with the joint development project, real start dates of the Ericy and Ericy/Sony licenses, apples to apples with regard to comparable sales of Nok, Ericy and Sony during years where end products have intersected the IDCC IPR for TDMA/GSM and royalty liability exists, any licensing provisions offered by IDCC to others after the 1999 Nok license that involve volume discounts or caps, any correspondence between IDCC and Nok before the settlement with Ericy, Sony and Ericy/Sony, and any other relevant matters that would bolster the arguments of either party.
The experience of the parties at arbitration is not as important as the experience of the attorneys handling the case. Experienced arbitration litigators will have a scouting report on the 3 panelists with regard to likes and dislikes and more importantly previous experience as to their tendencies with regard to strict enforcement as opposed to creative enforcement or split the baby tendencies. They will also know the best method of presenting the evidence at the hearing and otherwise which will stimulate the attention to the detail they feel will contribute to a good result. They may know that one panelist is going to hurt them no matter how many hoops they jump over and will focus their presentation to the other two panelists. They will also know and understand that arbitration is a big and lucrative business and will be able to provide effective guidance once the real settlement negotiations begin. They will be able to explain the scouting book on each panelist to the decision makers at IDCC and present real probabilities as to the outcome reached by this panel should they choose to go all the way to a binding arbitration ruling.
Finally, as I posted earlier, any result within my range is OK with me. I believe that 3g licensing success adding incrementally to the bottom line will be the shareholder value builder over the next several years. 2g has been a hard learning experience and can be compared to the Old Man and the Sea. Everyone can see the carcus on the beach and know that we had a monster on the hook that was ripped apart by the sharks (wireless manufacturers) along the way. The meat left over has kept the company alive and has gained entrance to standards tables with the sharks for the future. Our experience in the long fight is invaluable and a reasonable set of filets at the end of day will taste real good with a little more respect and credibility added as seasoning.
MO
loop
AI
