Nokia sues Apple over alleged patent infringements in iPad 3G, iPhone
Nokia announced Friday that it had filed yet another lawsuit against Apple, this time time alleging that both the iPhone and iPad 3G infringe on five patents owned by the Finnish phone maker.
According to Nokia, the patents involved in the suit, filed in the Federal District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin, are related to enhanced speech and data transmission. The technology uses positioning data in applications and new antenna configurations to improve performance and save space within the hardware, allowing for smaller devices.
"Nokia has been the leading developer of many key technologies in mobile devices" said Paul Melin, General Manager, Patent Licensing at Nokia. "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."
Nokia noted that it has invested about 40 billion euros in research and development in the last two decades. It said it has one of the industry's "strongest and broadest" patent portfolios, with more than 11,000 patent families.
Friday's announcement is the fourth complaint Nokia has lodged against Apple dating back to late 2009. Nokia first sued Apple last October, accusing the iPhone maker of infringing on patented wireless standards related to GSM and wireless LAN. Then in December, it filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, claiming that Apple has been infringing on patents with the iPhone, its line of iPads, and MacBooks.
In January, a third lawsuit alleged that Apple infringed on several "implementation patents." Filed in a federal court in Delaware, it addressed the same products cited in the ITC suit.
For its part, Apple filed a countersuit against Nokia last December, accusing the Finnish company of infringing on its own list of patents.
In January, Nokia's ITC complaint was accepted for investigation, considered a formality with such a high-profile case. The ITC also agreed to investigate Apple over Nokia's claims.
Analyst Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray has said he believes Nokia seeks a 1 percent to 2 percent royalty on every iPhone sold. That would amount to about $6 to $12 per handset in compensation for intellectual properties related go GSM, 3G and Wi-Fi.
According to Nokia, the patents involved in the suit, filed in the Federal District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin, are related to enhanced speech and data transmission. The technology uses positioning data in applications and new antenna configurations to improve performance and save space within the hardware, allowing for smaller devices.
"Nokia has been the leading developer of many key technologies in mobile devices" said Paul Melin, General Manager, Patent Licensing at Nokia. "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."
Nokia noted that it has invested about 40 billion euros in research and development in the last two decades. It said it has one of the industry's "strongest and broadest" patent portfolios, with more than 11,000 patent families.
Friday's announcement is the fourth complaint Nokia has lodged against Apple dating back to late 2009. Nokia first sued Apple last October, accusing the iPhone maker of infringing on patented wireless standards related to GSM and wireless LAN. Then in December, it filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, claiming that Apple has been infringing on patents with the iPhone, its line of iPads, and MacBooks.
In January, a third lawsuit alleged that Apple infringed on several "implementation patents." Filed in a federal court in Delaware, it addressed the same products cited in the ITC suit.
For its part, Apple filed a countersuit against Nokia last December, accusing the Finnish company of infringing on its own list of patents.
In January, Nokia's ITC complaint was accepted for investigation, considered a formality with such a high-profile case. The ITC also agreed to investigate Apple over Nokia's claims.
Analyst Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray has said he believes Nokia seeks a 1 percent to 2 percent royalty on every iPhone sold. That would amount to about $6 to $12 per handset in compensation for intellectual properties related go GSM, 3G and Wi-Fi.
Comments
If I were a Nokia shareholder, I'd be selling right about now.
It's no wonder they have to resort to such tactics.
On the other hand, Nokia has refused to license the tech to apple on the same reasonable, non-discriminatory terms as everybody else. They want access to some of Apple's valuable patents, one that Apple really doesn't want to license.
This is the issue. Hopefully the courts and the ITC will be smart enough to figure it out.
nice to have some double standards here. Hey, Apple how is that lawsuit towards HTC doing ?
You need to inform yourself a bit more. See #6 above.
nice to have some double standards here. Hey, Apple how is that lawsuit towards HTC doing ?
What are you talking about?
Nokia thinks a company has violated their patents, and is suing them.
Apple thinks a company has violated their patents, and is suing them.
Looks like a single standard to me.
Please explain?
Katie Marsal can you get the text of complaint?
/sarcasm
What are you talking about?
Nokia thinks a company has violated their patents, and is suing them.
Apple thinks a company has violated their patents, and is suing them.
Looks like a single standard to me.
Please explain?
What you're ignoring - even though it has been pointed out to you - is that Nokia is part of a consortium which requires reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing of their patents. They are asking Apple to pay a much higher fee than they charge anyone else - which is a violation of that agreement. Furthermore, they are insisting that Apple license some non-related patents - even though Apple has never agreed to reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing.
In effect, by participating in the consortium, Nokia no longer has the right to demand what they're asking.
Apple never licensed their iPhone technology to anyone and allege that HTC stole it. Apple certainly has the right to try to prove that.
Apple just doesn't want to pay what Nokia is asking. They tried to intimidate Nokia with a countersuit based on Nokia's use of patents that Apple owns, but in the long term I expect that Apple won't be able to sell _any_ phones if they don't license Nokia's technology. Nokia may not be able to sell phones with multi-touch, but they might not care.
At this point they're just going to find out if the various patents in question are valid, they've probably not been litigated before. Once that's done, they'll revisit licensing---a discussion they're probably continuing regardless of the lawsuits.
What you're ignoring - even though it has been pointed out to you - is that Nokia is part of a consortium which requires reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing of their patents. They are asking Apple to pay a much higher fee than they charge anyone else - which is a violation of that agreement. Furthermore, they are insisting that Apple license some non-related patents - even though Apple has never agreed to reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing.
And you are ignoring that that is what Apple says (in their countercomplaint to be exact). So far without a shed of proof. Kind of "he said, she said". And you believe them? And not the other company in question? Fanboyism is fine but believing what any company says blindly is kind of silly.
F/RAND also means two different things in GSM/3G licensing in N.America/Europe than what it means in Asia. Could it be that Nokia wants NAM/Europe prices (like every NAM/European company pays) and Apple wants Asian prices? That would easily explain the conflicting statements. They would both be correct in a sense.
We'll only know if this a) ever goes to court b) isn't settled outside of court and c) documents are made public.
Regs, Jarkko
Everyone who builds a cell phone almost certainly needs to license patents that Nokia owns.
Apple just doesn't want to pay what Nokia is asking.
How many times do you need to be told?
Nokia is required to charge everyone the same license fees but they want MORE from Apple. Apple agreed to pay what Nokia charges everyone else and Nokia refused.