ITC Staff: Nokia Didn’t Violate Apple Patents

Nokia’s won an early advantage in its brewing intellectual property battle with Apple.

According to a prehearing examination of the patents at issue in the case by the staff of the U.S. International Trade Commission, Apple hasn’t provided enough evidence to establish a violation of its rights. The ITC’s early read on 13 patents Cupertino has accused Nokia of violating is that some were not violated at all and some aspects of others are invalid.

Now this doesn’t mean that Apple is destined to lose this particular battle; ITC Judge Charles Bullock isn’t obligated to follow his staff’s recommendation. But it is something of a setback for Apple, which has asked the Commission to block the import of Nokia phones into the States.