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Oct. 23, 2009

Nokia said late Thursday that it has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple with the Federal District Court in Delaware.

The suit alleges that Apple's iPhone infringes on Nokia patents for GSM, UMTS and wireless LAN (WLAN) standards.

Apple has denied all allegations and said it would vigorously defend itself.

In a press release published yesterday, Nokia said that the ten patents in the lawsuit relate to various technologies fundamental to building devices which are compatible with one or more of the GSM, UMTS (3G WCDMA) and wireless LAN standards.

The patents cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption.

Additionally, Nokia says they are infringed by all Apple iPhone models shipped since the iPhone was introduced in July 2007.

"The basic principle in the wireless industry is that those companies who contribute in technology development to establish better industry standards create intellectual property, which others then need to compensate for," stated Ilkka Rahnasto, vice president, legal and intellectual property at Nokia.

He added "furthermore, Apple is also expected to follow this principle. By refusing to agree to the appropriate terms for Nokia's intellectual property, Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia's innovation."

The mobile and wireless communications field is a very competitive one and such patent infringement lawsuits are common.

In August, Nokia said it was entering the mini-laptop market. The handset maker's new mini laptop is called the Nokia Booklet 3G and weighs in at just 1.25 kilograms.

Also, it is slightly over two centimeters thin. The Windows-based laptop will feature a ten-inch glass HD ready display, front-facing camera for video conferencing and compatibility with both 3G HSPA and Wi-Fi Internet connectivity.

Specifications, market availability and overall pricing wasn't available at the time.

Other features include integrated GPS functionality and the use of the Ovi Suite to sync the laptop to a subscriber’s Nokia smartphone with cloud computing.

Nokia's entrance into the mini-laptop segment of the market comes at a critical time for the company. This is also a new orientation for Nokia, which has historically been making mobile handsets since the first day it went into business.

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Source: Nokia.