Nokia: Google's Nexus 7 Tablet Infringes Our Patents

walterbyrd writes with a story at The Inquirer outlining the latest volley in the patent wars surrounding mobile hardware, this time aimed at the new Aus-built Nexus 7 tablet from Google by Nokia, in which the company's spokesman says, "Nokia has more than 40 licensees, mainly for its standards essential patent portfolio, including most of the mobile device manufacturers. Neither Google nor Asus is licensed under our patent portfolio. 'Companies who are not yet licensed under our standard essential patents should simply approach us and sign up for a license.'"

Comments

Which patent?

[ameen.ross]

FTFA

It's believed that the patents in question have to do with the IEEE 802.11 WiFi standard

Re:Good ol' Microsoft

[MikeMo]

Come on, they're not a "troll". Patent trolls are regularly regarded as companies that make no product, have never implemented their patent, and exist only to sue. Nokia clearly invented a lot of the basic stuff that makes cell phones work today, and many of the standards in existence use these patents.

This is a FRAND issue. Nokia is stating that Google is using technology covered in the standards, which require FRAND licenses, and which they have not acquired. They just need to step up and get them.

Further, as far as I can tell, Nokia has been one of the best-behaved FRAND licensors in the business.

Re:Good ol' Microsoft

[Missing.Matter]

Right because Google never experienced any crashes during a demo. Apple as well, known for their presentations, have always put on a perfect show with everything performing exactly as expected.

Have you ever given a high-stakes presentation? Have ever given hundreds of them? Shit happens, and the more you get up there and put yourself on the line, the more shit happens.

Steve Jobs had the right take on it.

Even though Steve was a fierce competitor, he actually drew the line at taking advantage of competitors’ demo woes. I remember one time during the “think different” years when Bill Gates suffered a terrible failure demoing a new Microsoft technology. We at the agency thought it would make a very funny commercial for Apple. It seemed like an idea being handed to us on a silver platter. We would simply show Gates failing and end the ad with a clever line about Apple.

Steve laughed — but he rejected it immediately. He said that demo crashes are an unavoidable part of the business, and that his own demos could fail as easily as Gates’.

Source - The Joy of Demo Crashes

Re:Good ol' Microsoft

[msauve]

"Google is using technology covered in the standards, which require FRAND licenses, and which they have not acquired."

Just because Google doesn't license WiFi patents directly from Nokia doesn't mean they don't have legitimate licenses. It's not uncommon for chipset vendors to license patented technologies for use in their silicon, freeing those who use those chipsets from having to negotiate a separate license.

I'm not claiming that's the case here, but even if Nokia's claim that Google hasn't directly licensed the patents is true, it doesn't mean that Google doesn't have a right to use the technology, or that they're not paying Nokia (indirectly).