Like Merritt and Nokia are reading two separate decisions:
Nokia's View:
New York, NY, United States - Nokia announced today that the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) has reviewed the Administrative Law Judge's (ALJ) Initial Determination in favor of Nokia, in the action brought by InterDigital. Following the review, the Commission has affirmed the ALJ's Initial Determination and terminated the investigation.
Nokia is delighted with this outcome. Not only did the Commission conclude that Nokia products do not infringe InterDigital's patents, but it also withdrew the portion of the ALJ's Initial Determination that had found the patents valid.
The case, filed by InterDigital, alleged that Nokia infringed four patents that InterDigital asserted as essential for the UMTS (3G) mobile standard. Today's result is consistent with a previous judgement in the United Kingdom that found several InterDigital patents not to be essential to the UMTS mobile standard.
From IDCC:
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDCC - News) today announced that, in the U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) investigation initiated by InterDigital against Nokia, the Commission issued a notice that it reviewed in part the Initial Determination (ID) by the Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) and found no violation of Section 337 and has terminated the investigation. In the ID, the ALJ found InterDigital’s patents valid and enforceable, but also determined that the patents were not infringed by Nokia’s 3G products.
I think in the last sentence Merritt is trying to leave the impression that the ALJs decision that patents were valid still stands. That is absolutely not the case, and I wonder why he's being this devious.
robj
PS People think I'm a basher sometimes, it's just that I'd once like to see the company win in court one time, ever. EVER! How many court decisions can they lose before their licensing efforts with the minnows suffers?
