Today Nokia, to our great surprise, announced that it has sued Apple for infringing no less than ten patents “for GSM, UMTS and wireless LAN (WLAN) standards.”
The patents iclude speech coding, wireless data, encryption and security, and Nokia claims that they have been infringed by all of Apple’s iPhones – starting with the 2.5G model launched in 2007. Nokia states that all the 10 patents have already been licensed to 40 companies around the world, including the major vendors.
Ilkka Rahnasto, the Vice President of Nokia says:
“The basic principle in the mobile industry is that those companies who contribute in technology development to establish standards create intellectual property, which others then need to compensate for. Apple is also expected to follow this principle. By refusing to agree appropriate terms for Nokia’s intellectual property, Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia’s innovation.”
Nokia’s complaint against Apple was filed with the Federal District Court in Delaware, US. If Nokia’s claims turn out to be true, Apple will probably have to pay a lot of money to the Finnish company.
