A foundation operating in the United States has filed a lawsuit against Nokia and two other companies over allegations of patent violations. The Washington-based Washington Research Foundation alleges that Nokia, the Korean manufacturer Samsung, and the Japanese Matsushita have violated patents owned by the University of Washington. The foundation has submitted its challenge to a US federal court in Seattle.
According to the suit, the companies are violating patents by using wireless Bluetooth technology in mobile phones and computers that they manufacture. The suit particularly targets products of the British microchip manufacturer CSR, but not the company itself.
The share price of the chip manufacturer took a sharp downturn of nearly six per cent on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning.
Nokia did not comment on the matter. Its share price remained slightly below the starting level on the Helsinki Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
The open standard Bluetooth technology is used for wireless transfer of information. Nokia's rival Ericsson has been largely responsible for developing Bluetooth; Ericsson gave other companies free access to the technology in order to secure it the most extensive markets possible.
Bluetooth is a component used in hundreds of millions of mobile telephones around the world.
