ETRI sues 22 foreign cell phone makers for patent violations

SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's state-run telecommunications research
institute said Monday it is suing more than 20 foreign mobile phone makers,
including Nokia and Motorola, over patent violations.

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) filed patent
complaints against a total of 22 cell phone makers last year, ETRI officials
said, adding that one suit was filed with a California court in August.
ETRI accuses the manufacturers of violating seven patents for third-generation
mobile telecommunications standards, including wideband code division multiple
access (WCDMA).
Officials said ETRI expects to garner more than 300 billion won (US$268.09
million) in royalties from suits worth about 1 trillion won, while two companies
have already agreed on payments of 20 billion won in royalties to ETRI, they
added.
ETRI, which commercialized CDMA for the first time in the world in 1996,
currently holds about 170 patents for international standards.
(END)

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