Nokia versus Apple?
The world’s biggest mobile phone maker, Nokia has said that it is suing its US rival Apple for infringing patents on mobile phone technology for the iPhone. Nokia said it had not been compensated for its technology, and accused Apple of “trying to get a free ride on the back of Nokia’s innovation”. The 10 alleged patent infringements involve wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption. The breaches applied to all models of the iPhone since its launch in 2007, Nokia added.
Finland’s Nokia said that it had agreements with about 40 firms – including most mobile phone handset makers – allowing them to use the firm’s technology, but that Apple had not signed an agreement. The vice president of Legal & Intellectual Property at Nokia, Ilkka Rahnasto said that the basic principle in the mobile industry is that those companies who contribute in technology development to establish standards create intellectual property, which others then need to compensate for. Apple is also expected to follow this principle.
He added that during the last two decades, Nokia had invested approximately 40bn euros ($60bn) on research and development. While earlier this month, Nokia posted its first quarterly loss in a decade amid falling sales. Analysts said that the poor results had come partly as customers turned from Nokia models to the iPhone and RIM’s Blackberry.
Meanwhile, Apple reported profits of $1.67bn in the three months to 26 September – partly due to a 7% growth in iPhone sales.