14 DAY TRIAL // While it is still too early to say for sure, analysts are already expecting Nokia to have a legal dispute with Apple over its upcoming touchscreen phone. While it is certainly possible to make touch screen devices without going near Apple's turf, making something that actually offers iPhone like functionality without infringing seems unlikely.
Nokia's promised touchscreen phone could cause a lot of trouble to the company, especially if they decide to make something that actually takes advantage of the technology. While devices such as the HTC Touch have touchscreens without any legal headaches from Apple, that device is a far cry from the capabilities of the iPhone. No matter how Nokia goes about things, it is highly unlikely that they can get by without infringing on Apple, especial considering that the iPhone is covered by over 200 patents.
Exactly what happens if and when Nokia and Apple do get into a legal dispute is unclear. Apple is usually the one getting sued over all matter of things, not the other way around. On the other hand, from the way Jobs talked about the patent covering the iPhone, it is unlikely that they will simply turn a blind eye. If it does come to it, Apple has no reason whatsoever to let Nokia use any of their technology, quite the contrary. Apple is the newcomer into the market, with its very first such product and now market leaders that have been churning out product for over a decade want to go and follow in their footsteps. Giving that head start away would make no sense.
Much like in the case of the iPod, we will be seeing a lot of iPhone-like devices that will be touting similar, if not better features, but none actually being able to offer the core that makes everything else tick. The saddest part is that while the portable media player industry might have not seen Apple coming, and had no precedent to make judgment calls on, the cell phone industry has no such excuse.