Nokia slaps more law suits against Apple

In its escalating battle with Apple, Nokia has fired a fresh barrage of lawsuits at its smartphone rival, over alleged patent violations.

According to the Finland-based company, it has launched court cases against Apple in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, on charges of stealing Nokia technology for its iPhone, iPod and iPad touchscreen devices.

According to analysts, the fresh lawsuits add to litigation already under way between the companies in the US and open up another chapter in the broader industry-wide battle over the intellectual property behind the fast-growing smartphone and tablet computer markets.

Apple has come out with its own complaints against the counter its rival's claims. The US company is already engaged in patent disputes with Motorola of the US and HTC of Taiwan.

Industry sources say there is a kind of an intellectual property war raging in the sector. They say it is a kind of cycle that is not good for any company bottom line, apart from the attorneys.'

The litigation gives an added impetus to the fierce competition between Nokia and Apple as the Finnish group pushes to regain lost ground from the iPhone and defend its lead position in the overall mobile market.