Nokia has filed legal claims in the USA and Germany alleging that products from HTC, RIM and Viewsonic infringe a number of its patents.

The legal action includes a complaint to the US International Trade Commission against HTC, patent cases against HTC and Viewsonic in the USA, and court cases against all three companies in Germany.

In a couple of deals that echo Microsoft’s agreement with HTC in April 2010, the software giant has come to separate agreements with Acer and ViewSonic.

In Acer’s case, the two companies have “executed a patent license agreement that includes broad coverage under Microsoft’s patent portfolio for Acer’s tablets and smartphones running the Android platform” - and with ViewSonic they’ve “signed a patent agreement that provides broad coverage under Microsoft’s patent portfolio for ViewSonic’s tablets and mobile phones running the Android or Chrome Platform”.

HTC has bought a number of patent from Google in a bid to strengthen its legal case against Apple.

It’s amended its US International Trade Commission complaint, it’s amended a similar US legal case and has filed a new case as well.

ViewSonic Europe has announced a 'try for free' promotional offer that enables customers to return their ViewPad 7 tablet if they're not completely satisfied.

Dissatisfied customers are given 20 days to experience the 7-inch Android tablet; they then need to return the device within a 10-day window (i.e. within 30 days from the date on their invoice) for a full refund.

Mark Bridge and James Rosewell prepare for day four of Mobile World Congress with a 45-minute podcast that looks at recent developments involving the MeeGo and webOS mobile platforms. What’s the future for Intel and HP?

There’s also an interview with James Coulson,  European Marketing Manager at ViewSonic, and a chat about Motorola’s Xoom and Atrix devices as well.