Says iPhone and iPad 3G infringe five Nokia patents

May 10, 2010 12:24 GMT  ·  By

On Friday, Finland-based mobile phone maker Nokia announced the filing of a complaint against Apple with the Federal District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin. According to the leading handset vendor, the Apple iPhone and iPad 3G devices infringe a number of five important Nokia patented technologies.

The Finnish company alleged that the aforementioned Apple products infringed patents related to technologies for enhanced speech and data transmission, which make use of positioning data in applications and innovations in antenna configurations meant to enhance performance and save space, so that the devices are smaller and more compact. According to Nokia, these patented innovations represent important factors in its success, given the fact that they enable the company deliver products with improved performance and designs.

“Nokia has been the leading developer of many key technologies in mobile devices,” Paul Melin, general manager, Patent Licensing at Nokia, commented on the new legal action the company takes against Apple. “We have taken this step to protect the results of our pioneering development and to put an end to continued unlawful use of Nokia's innovation.”

This is not the first legal dispute Nokia and Apple are involved in. In October last year, Nokia sued Apple over patent infringement claims, and Apple coutersued the handset vendor soon after, alleging that the UI on Nokia smartphones infringe its patents. Moreover, both companies filed complaints against one another with the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Nokia, currently the largest mobile phone maker in the world, is well known for its development of handheld device and mobile communications technologies, as well as for the fact that it holds a strong patent portfolio in the area. According to the company, it has made large investments in research and development over the last two decades, managing to build one of the widest IPR portfolios, including more than 11,000 patent families.