By Dan Levine
(Reuters) - Nokia has filed a brief in support of Apple
Inc's bid to secure permanent injunctions against several
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd phones, making the Finnish smartphone
maker the only outside group to come forward in backing the
iPhone maker's appeal.
The full brief filed on Monday at the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit in Washington is currently sealed. In an
accompanying summary, however, Nokia argued that a trial court
judge got it wrong when she denied Apple's request for a
permanent injunction.
Apple and Nokia were onetime adversaries in the smartphone
patent wars. Nokia sued Apple in 2009 before the California
company launched its legal campaign against Android
manufacturers. The two companies settled in 2011, with Apple
paying Nokia undisclosed royalties.
In the filing on Monday, Nokia attorney Keith Broyles from
Alston & Bird argued that U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San
Jose, California, erred by ruling that Apple must establish a
"causal nexus" between its patented feature and the demand for
its phones in order to secure a permanent injunction.
Such a rule "could cause wide-ranging damage to the United
States patent protection landscape," Nokia said.
The deadline for amicus filings on behalf of Apple was Feb.
19, but Nokia asked for a 14-day extension to submit its brief.
The Federal Circuit granted Nokia's request.
Besides Nokia, a review of the case docket shows, no other
companies or advocacy groups have filed amicus briefs in support
of Apple. An Apple spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
Samsung's brief is not due for several weeks, and amici that
support the South Korean company will have their opportunity to
file briefs after Samsung tenders its written arguments.
In Nokia's filing, Broyles wrote that Nokia's interest is to
advocate for patent rights as a means of fostering innovation.
"Nokia has recently been involved in numerous U.S. patent
lawsuits, as both a plaintiff and defendant," Broyles wrote.
"Nokia is thus both a significant patent owner that might seek
an injunction to protect its patent rights, and a manufacturer
in an industry in which patent owners routinely issue threats of
injunctions for patent infringement."
Apple had asked the Federal Circuit to fast-track its appeal
and immediately hear it before the full court. However, the
court rejected that request and assigned the case to a
three-judge panel to hear it first.
The case is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 13-1129.
For Nokia: Patrick Flinn and Keith Broyles, Alston & Bird.
For Apple: William Lee, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and
Dorr.
For Samsung: Kathleen Sullivan, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart &
Sullivan.
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