Project NeXt - Mobile Gaming

Nokia Expands Patent Dispute Beyond Apple iPhone
by The Associated Press

NEW YORK - Nokia Corp . is broadening a legal dispute it already has with Apple Inc . over the iPhone , saying almost all of the company's other products also violate the Finnish phone maker's patents.

Nokia said Tuesday that it has filed a complaint against Apple with the U.S. International Trade Commission , alleging Apple's iPhone, iPods and computers all violate Nokia's intellectual property rights .

At issue are key features found in Apple products, including aspects of user interface, cameras, antenna and power management technologies , Nokia said. The company claims that the technologies in question help cut manufacturing costs, reduce gadget size and prolong battery life.

A household name in Asia and Europe, Nokia is a smaller player in the United States, where its smart phones face tough competition from Apple's iPhone and Research in Motion Ltd .'s BlackBerry devices. Nokia , the world's largest cell phone maker , has cautioned that its own market share volume, currently at some 38 percent, would be flat next year.

The company, which is based in Espoo, Finland , has already sued Apple in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Del., over the massively popular iPhone, claiming it infringes on 10 of its patents related to phone calls and Wi-Fi access.

Apple has denied the charges and this month countered with its own lawsuit in the Delaware court, saying Nokia has copied aspects of the iPhone in its devices. Apple claims Nokia is violating its patent rights on technology for connecting phones to computers, teleconferencing and touch-screen menus, among other things.

Federal lawsuits allow companies to seek monetary damages and court orders to end certain practices. With complaints before the U.S. International Trade Commission , companies could get an order for Customs to stop imports of products made with the disputed technology. Many of Apple's products and parts are made overseas.

Apple, which has its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., did not return messages seeking comment Tuesday.

Looks like Nokia is going all-out in its patent fight with Apple: in addition to the lawsuit it's filed over GSM standards and last week's International Trade Commission complaint, Espoo just filed a second complaint with the federal court, alleging that Apple's infringing several "implementation patents" that cover everything from camera sensors to touchscreens. That's three fronts in the same war, if you're counting -- the original regarding GSM patents, and these two latest over specific device technologies. The biggest bombshell so far is the ITC complaint, in which Nokia's asking the commission to ban imports of basically every Apple mobile product from the MacBook to the iPhone for infringing its device patents -- a strategy we've seen in other high-profile cases. Since the ITC has the ability to move quite quickly, we'd expect that case to be the primary battleground for the moment -- but remember that Apple has plenty of its own incredibly broad patents of its own to fight back with here, so don't expect a quick resolution. Looks like 2010 is going to be awfully good for these attorneys, don't you think?

Apple escalated its legal battle with Nokia on Friday by submitting a request to ban imports of mobile phones from the Finnish manufacturer.

Apple's request is the second filed to the International Trade Commission. Nokia filed a complaint last month saying virtually every Apple device violated seven patents held by Nokia.

The smartphone patent debacle started in October when Nokia sued Apple for allegedly infringing on ten of Nokia's technology patents with the iPhone. Apple responded in December by countersuing Nokia, saying it was allegedly infringing on as many as 13 Apple patents.

Nokia spokesperson Mark Durrant responded to Bloomberg about Apple's latest request via text message saying, "Nokia will study the complaint when it is received and continue to defend itself vigorously. However this does not alter the fact that Apple has failed to agree appropriate terms for using Nokia technology and has been seeking a free ride on Nokia's innovation since it shipped the first iPhone in 2007."

Nokia, the largest maker of mobile phones globally, has been losing market share over the past year as the popularity of the iPhone skyrocketed.

Competition via Court:
Nokia would seem to be seeking compensation from the courtroom, a tactic that is being used more frequently in the tech industry.

The ITC sees numerous patent dispute cases a year (a PC World search reveals 63 stories about the ITC since 2006.)

Earlier this month the ITC agreed to investigate a patent claim from Prism Technologies filed against RIM over a method for controlling access to electronic data using an authentication server. Kodak also filed a claim against RIM and Apple alleging iPhones and BlackBerrys with cameras infringe on a Kodak patent that allows image previews.

An ITC investigation is a lengthy process, but it's possible that Apple and Nokia might reach some sort of settlement as suits continue to escalate between the two companies. LG and Kodak settled an ITC dispute out of court in December with a cross-licensing agreement. Nokia and Apple could do the same.

It's understandable that Nokia would seek compensation if it believes Apple is infringing on their patents. The company claims to have invested almost $90 Million over 20 years to develop cell phone technology.