Nokia alleges Apple stole its tech to make iPhone, files court cases in Germany and the U.S.
Apple has been in trouble for copying tech and designs several times since the launch of iPhone in 2007 till date. Now it has another lawsuit to face this time from Nokia. Nokia says that Apple stole its patented technologies like display and even the iOS to make its own iPhone.
The yesteryears king of mobile phones, Nokia filed a lawsuit against Apple Inc. on Wednesday in Germany and the U.S. for patent infringement over intellectual property used in the iPhone and other Apple products. The suit was filed in Regional Courts in Dusseldorf, Mannheim and Munich in Germany and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
Nokia says its complaint includes “32 patents in a suit across all of the actions, covering technologies such as the display, user interface, software, antenna, chipsets and video coding. Nokia is in the process of filing further actions in other jurisdictions.”
In a statement, Nokia said, “Since agreeing a license covering some patents from the Nokia Technologies portfolio in 2011, Apple has declined subsequent offers made by Nokia to license other of its patented inventions which are used by many of Apple’s products.”
However, Apple claims that Nokia’s failing cellphone business has prompted them to transfer patents to patent assertion entities to get out of FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory) licensing deals it established for essential patents, allowing the company to collect higher royalties.
From Apple’s complaint: “With its cell phone business dying, Nokia began to seek out willing conspirators and to commence its illegal patent transfer scheme in full force; that scheme has continued in full effect to the present. The driving force behind Nokia’s strategy was to diffuse its patent portfolio and place it in the hands of PAEs. Acacia and Conversant were its chief conspirators.”
On the other hand, Nokia’s own patent infringement complaint against Apple claims that the company has declined to establish licensing deals for Nokia technology that is used in Apple products.
Ilkka Rahnasto, head of Patent Business at Nokia, said: “Through our sustained investment in research and development, Nokia has created or contributed to many of the fundamental technologies used in today’s mobile devices, including Apple products. After several years of negotiations trying to reach agreement to cover Apple’s use of these patents, we are now taking action to defend our rights.”
This is not the first time Apple is involved in a patent battle. Earlier this year, it paid $24.9 million in a Siri patent lawsuit and $625 million in a Facetime patent lawsuit. And how can one forget, Apple’s famous five-year-patent battle with Samsung over design features. Luckily for Apple, they won that patent infringement battle against Samsung.
