Nokia sues Apple for patent infringement

23 Oct 2009

Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, has said that it is suing its US rival Apple for infringing patents on mobile phone technology for the iPhone.

The Finland-based company 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 complaint, filed with the federal district court in Delaware, US, alleged that "Apple's iPhone infringes Nokia patents for GSM, UMTS and wireless LAN (WLAN) standards," the statement said.

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.

"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," said Ilkka Rahnasto, vice president of legal & intellectual property at Nokia.