Remember how Samsung had to shell out a boatload of cash for infringing on InterDigital's IP related to WCDMA technology? Looks like Nokia may have to do the same. Nokia has an agreement in place over the use of InterDigital's 2G tech, but apparently not its 3G, and that's got InterDigital worked up over a pair of patents it holds. They've made enough of a stink about it to get the US International Trade Commission's attention -- you know, the folks that banned Qualcomm's chips on similar grounds -- and it's looking to get to the bottom of the sitch within the next 45 days. Nokia sounds ready to fight, saying that it'll "vigorously defend itself" against InterDigital's claims, which we figure means it has no intention of whipping out the checkbook the same way Samsung did to the tune of $134 million. We'll keep ya updated as this one develops.

[Via mocoNews]

It seems the feds agree with us that a broad, sweeping ban on little morsels of 3G goodness is just flat-out uncool. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has turned the proverbial hourglass upside down, giving the US International Trade Commission two weeks to justify its partial halt on the import of devices equipped with 3G chipsets manufactured by Qualcomm. The spat originates over a Broadcom claim that Qualcomm's silicon infringes on its patents, and the court system is interested in hearing why the USITC thinks the ban should remain in place while Qualcomm appeals. Intellectual property issues aside, the ITC's cold-turkey ban stands to have a significant impact on carriers, handset manufacturers, and customers (that's us, by the way) as the selection suddenly dries up -- so at the very least, we're hoping everyone affected has a little more time to get their ducks in a row while the patent suit navigates the legal system (please?).