Nokia files another ITC complaint against Apple

by Janani Krishnaswamy on 29 March 2011, 13:45

Tags: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Nokia (NYSE:NOK)

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Patent war continues

After Apple emerged victorious in the first patent infringement lawsuit filed by Nokia last Friday, the Finnish handset maker has filed yet another complaint with the US International Trade Commission (ITC).

This time, Nokia alleges that Apple infringes additional Nokia patents in virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, tablets and computers.

The company noted that the seven patents in the new complaint relate to Nokia's innovations that are now being used by Apple to create key features in its products in the areas of multi-tasking operating systems, data synchronization, positioning, call quality and the use of Bluetooth accessories.

"Our latest ITC filing means we now have 46 Nokia patents in suit against Apple, many filed more than 10 years before Apple made its first iPhone," said Paul Melin, VP of Intellectual Property at Nokia. "Nokia is a leading innovator in technologies needed to build great mobile products and Apple must stop building its products using Nokia's proprietary innovation."

The statement also noted that over the last two decades, Nokia has nearly invested approximately EUR 43 billion in research and development.

Earlier, the ITC struck down Nokia's claim that Apple used its technology in the iPhone and iPod, infringing on the Finnish phone maker's patents. As reported by Mobiledia, the judge's decision will be forwarded to a commission for a 60-day review period to determine whether or not to adopt the ruling.

The current legal battle between Nokia and Apple dates back to 2009. In 2010, Nokia filed cases on the same patents and others in Delaware, US and has further cases proceeding in Mannheim, Dusseldorf and the Federal Patent Court in Germany, the UK High Court in London and the District Court of the Hague in the Netherlands, some of which will come to trial in the next few months.

 

HEXUS Forums :: 4 Comments

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Posted by aidanjt - Tue 29 Mar 2011 13:52
I hope Nokia doesn't turn into a mobile SCO.
Posted by [GSV]Trig - Tue 29 Mar 2011 14:43
The statement also noted that over the last two decades, Nokia has nearly invested approximately EUR 43 billion in research and development.

And they have what to show for it?
I'd be interested in where that money went rather than trying to out-patent Apple..
Wonder if any of this has anything to do with Microsoft..
Posted by crossy - Tue 29 Mar 2011 15:32
In 2010, Nokia filed cases on the same patents and others in Delaware, US and has further cases proceeding in Mannheim, Dusseldorf and the Federal Patent Court in Germany, the UK High Court in London and the District Court of the Hague in the Netherlands, some of which will come to trial in the next few months.
Am I being naive, but surely if an ITC judge has already ruled in Apple's favour then surely that's a precedent - in which case the other filings will fail?

As much as I like Nokia (or at least I did before they became a division of Microsoft) this latest load of legal does seem a little vindictive. But then again, Apple's not exactly free from the accusation of legal blunderbussing, in which case maybe this is an attempt at natural justice?
Posted by Grebowski - Wed 30 Mar 2011 13:55
crossy
Am I being naive, but surely if an ITC judge has already ruled in Apple's favour then surely that's a precedent - in which case the other filings will fail?
Patent laws (and the granted patent claims for a patent family) vary greatly from country to country - there's barely any agreement between the German and UK courts when looking at the same patent, let alone European and US courts!

I see this more as posturing from Nokia and that they've finally woken up to the fact that their market share is plummeting and what can they do to claw revenue back. i.e. At the very least they can try to use some of the output (patents) from their massive R&D spend.