Nokia expands number of patent suits against Apple in escalating battle

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone
Nokia on Thursday said it has increased the number of patent suits launched against Apple from 32 to 40, spread across 11 countries, including the U.S. and parts of Asia and Europe.




The new cases are an extension of suits filed on Wednesday, when Nokia charged Apple with violating 32 patents picked up in portfolio deals in 2013 and 2016, Reuters reported without elaborating on details. The news agency did note however that Nokia shares dropped almost 5 percent on Thursday, as analysts cautioned that a fight with Apple could delay royalty payments Nokia partly depends on.

Apple on Wednesday filed a retaliatory suit against nine patent aggregrators linked to Nokia, accusing them of trying to "extract and extort exorbitant revenues" from Apple and other mobile device makers, using "unfair and anticompetitive patent assertions."

It even accused Nokia of becoming a "patent troll" since selling off its mobile division to Microsoft. One of the aggregators, Acacia, has sued Apple 42 times in the space of a decade.

Apple and Nokia previously engaged in patent-related legal battles in 2009 and 2010, but reached a settlement in 2011 with Apple agreeing to pay royalties for a cross-license of patents.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    phone-ui-guyphone-ui-guy Posts: 1,019member
    I don't think this will end up being good for Nokia. They still sell physical products in other industries. I can see Apple buying a patent pool to hit them with more counter claims in their other businesses. 
    caliGrimzahn
  • Reply 2 of 15
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,278member
    Nokia is kind of like a failed state that is trying to make some money through piracy -- kind of like Somalia. 
    sdw2001lolliver
  • Reply 3 of 15
    fotoformatfotoformat Posts: 302member
    blastdoor said:
    Nokia is kind of like a failed state that is trying to make some money through piracy -- kind of like Somalia. 
    Since Nokia is Finnish... I think they're finished!
    calislprescottGrimzahnSpamSandwichwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 15
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,404member
    Bottom-feeders.
    calilolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 15
    alxsbralxsbr Posts: 12member
    It's a sad ending for a company that used to be the mobile industry in person just a decade ago.
    sdw2001lolliver
  • Reply 6 of 15
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    Gasping for air.

    alxsbr said:
    It's a sad ending for a company that used to be the mobile industry in person just a decade ago.

    "Apples keyboardless iPhone will fail against industry giants Nokia, Blackberry and Motorola"

    I wonder how many iHaters remember these headlines?
    edited December 2016 lolliverwatto_cobraalxsbr
  • Reply 7 of 15
    rotateleftbyterotateleftbyte Posts: 1,630member
    Nokia or their 'Agent Provateurs' are going for the jugular here.
    I'm puzzled as to why they are doing this now? They could have done it years ago.
    Could it be that the next President will look the other way then the next attempt at patent reform is made?

  • Reply 8 of 15
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,212member
    Nokia or their 'Agent Provateurs' are going for the jugular here.
    I'm puzzled as to why they are doing this now? They could have done it years ago.
    Could it be that the next President will look the other way then the next attempt at patent reform is made?

    Apple may have forced their hand with lawsuits in the process of being filed against Nokia-associated companies. If so it's a similar situation to the Apple/Motorola set of lawsuits. Apple let it be known they were suing Motorola, but it was Moto who won the race to the courthouse. 
    edited December 2016
  • Reply 9 of 15
    k2kwk2kw Posts: 2,075member
    I wonder if Nokia hired Samsung's lawyers?

    Apple better get a new law firm.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 15
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,016member
    rotateleftbyte said:
    Nokia or their 'Agent Provateurs' are going for the jugular here.
    I'm puzzled as to why they are doing this now? They could have done it years ago.
    Could it be that the next President will look the other way then the next attempt at patent reform is made?

    Don't be melodramatic.  There is no jugular here, nor could Nokia go for it if there was.  This is one thing they are doing to stay in business and help their bottom line.  It's nothing but a cost benefit equation for them.  Apple is absolutely correct in calling them a patent troll. That is exactly what they're doing, even if they are involved in other businesses that actually sell things.  
  • Reply 11 of 15
    schwabsauceschwabsauce Posts: 64member
    This seems like a typo. Nokia doesn't exist anymore. They were bought by MicroShaft and given the shaft
  • Reply 12 of 15
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    This seems like a typo. Nokia doesn't exist anymore. They were bought by MicroShaft and given the shaft

    Nokia sold it's mobile phone division to Microsoft, not the entire company. There are still a lot of other divisions such as Nokia Technologies and Nokia Networks. The company is still acquiring other companies and plans to get back into the mobile phone market by making branded phones for other companies. (I think there is some agreement in place following the sale of Nokia Mobile to Microsoft that prevents them from selling phones under the Nokia brand for at least ten years).
    edited December 2016
  • Reply 13 of 15
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,212member
    Rayz2016 said:
    This seems like a typo. Nokia doesn't exist anymore. They were bought by MicroShaft and given the shaft

    Nokia sold it's mobile phone division to Microsoft, not the entire company. There are still a lot of other divisions such as Nokia Technologies and Nokia Networks. The company is still acquiring other companies and plans to get back into the mobile phone market by making branded phones for other companies. (I think there is some agreement in place following the sale of Nokia Mobile to Microsoft that prevents them from selling phones under the Nokia brand for at least ten years).
    If was less than 10 years. Nokia-branded phones will return next year. 
  • Reply 14 of 15
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,212member
    The latest:
    Apple is in the process of adding Nokia itself and not just some Nokia-associated companies to the antitrust complaint they had filed a few days ago.  Nokia's response? They've initiated an ITC complaint over several patents and asking for an order of a US import ban.  This is getting nastier fast. 
    edited December 2016 jfanningdasanman69watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 15
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,212member
    And then Apple settles with the company it called "a patent troll". 

    Today Apple signed a multiyear agreement that pays Nokia immediate cash and on-going royalties. Nokia also managed to sell Apple on their networking equipment, becoming an Apple partner instead of a courtroom adversary. Quite the switch.

    http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/nokia-settles-patent-dispute-apple-signs-new-business-collaboration-agreement-1622958

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