InterDigital filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) against Nokia, Huawei Technologies and FutureWei Technologies, and ZTE alleging that the companies have engaged in unfair trade practices. InterDigital is asserting patent infringement for certain 3G wireless devices, including WCDMA and cdma2000 mobile phones, USB sticks, mobile hotspots, tablets, and components. 
The action also extends to certain WCDMA and cdma2000 devices incorporating WiFi functionality. The company has also taken its complaint to the United States District Court for the District of Delaware alleging that these 3G wireless devices infringe these same seven InterDigital patents.
“Over the past thirty years, InterDigital has invested nearly one billion dollars in the development of advanced digital cellular technologies, creating important innovations, and helping to drive an industry creating billions of wireless connections,” said Lawrence Shay, President of InterDigital’s patent holding subsidiaries. “During that period, we have signed dozens of license agreements with manufacturers, giving them access to a patent portfolio of approximately 19,000 issued patents and patent applications – among the largest wireless portfolios in the world,” continued Shay. “The vast majority of our agreements have been reached without the need for litigation. However, despite having engaged in good faith efforts to license our patents to Nokia, Huawei and ZTE, we have not been able to reach an acceptable resolution. As a result, to protect our intellectual property and the interests of our licensees, we made the decision to bring legal action against these parties.” http://www.interdigital.com
- Earlier this month, InterDigital confirmed that it is exploring and evaluating potential strategic alternatives for the company, which may include a sale or other transaction.
“We continue to be optimistic about the prospects for the company under its current business plan,�? stated Terry Clontz, Chairman of InterDigital’s Board of Directors. “That said, over the past year we have seen the value of intellectual property rise substantially as major players in the mobile industry increasingly understand the strategic and economic value of this type of asset. As a result, the Board believes it is an appropriate time to explore potential strategic options that may enhance shareholder value.�?
- On July 11, 2011, A consortium consisting of Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, Research In Motion and Sony prevailed as the winning bidder for all of Nortel’s remaining patents and patent applications. The winning bid was US$4.5 billion. The sale includes more than 6,000 patents and patent applications spanning wireless, wireless 4G, data networking, optical, voice, internet, service provider, semiconductors and other patents.
