Nokia and Apple File Engaging Lawsuits Over Patents Used in Apple Products

Apple Inc. and Nokia filed competing Lawsuits over intellectual property used in the iPhone devices and other Apple products. The suits were filed this week in the US and Germany, mark the second time in the past seven years that the companies have squared off in a dispute over patent issues.

Back in 2011, Apple solved a two-year patent case with Nokia and agreed to pay licensing royalties for use of some Nokia patents in iPhone devices. Apple filed a suit this Tuesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, the Company argues that Nokia excluded some patents from that agreement and transferred them to third-party companies to be used at extorting excessive royalties from them. 

On Wednesday, Nokia filed a complaint in Germany and US, alleging that Apple products infringed on 32 Nokia patents covering technologies such as display, antenna and video coding. Ilkka Rahnasto, Nokia's head of patent business, said in a statement that the company negotiated for several years with Apple to reach an agreement on the use of the 32 patents before deciding to take action.

An Apple spokesman revealed, "Unfortunately, Nokia has refused to license their patents on a fair basis and is now using the tactics of a patent troll to attempt to extort money from Apple." In the previous settlement between these two companies,Nokia managed to secure a favorable settlement worth an estimated $720 million from Apple.

Nokia abandoned mobile manufacturing in 2014, when it sold its business to Microsoft Corporation for €5.44 billion ($5.86 billion) to focus on network equipment. We all know the sales of networking equipment are in decline state world-wide due to lower spending by mobile service providers, Nokia is increasingly dependent on its high profitable patent business. 

"The stock market wants to see that Nokia can generate some patent income because it doesn't have much else," Mr. Mueller said. Just an year ago, Apple and Nokia rivak Ericsson AB ended a similar patent dispute, saying they had reached a global license agreement.