German court rules against Nokia, HTC

HELSINKI, FINLAND: German firm IPCom said on Friday a German court has decided the world's top cellphone maker, Nokia, and Taiwan's HTC are infringing two patents held by IPCom.

"This ruling shows clearly that the companies have made unapproved use of our patents for years," Bernhard Frohwitter, IPCom's managing director, said in a statement.

Frohwitter said the company has been in talks with both firms for years over a licencing deal.

"We expect them to return to the negotiating table and finally agree a license on FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) terms," he said.

A request for injunctions to ban the sale and distribution of the two company's handsets in Germany were put on hold pending final decisions on the validity of the patents by the European Patent Office, a court official said.

IPCom said this decision was due in 2010. Nokia was not immediately available for comment.