Nokia sues Apple for iPhone patent violations

Finnish phone giant Nokia filed suit against Apple Thursday, alleging that the iPhone infringes on 10 of its patents.

Nokia filed the lawsuit in the Federal District Court of Delaware claiming that the patents cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption. Nokia said it had signed licenses with other companies that allowed them to use the technology that Apple had used without payment in all iPhones since the device's 2007 launch.

"The basic principle in the mobile industry is that those companies who contribute technology development to establish standards create intellectual property, which others then need to compensate for," said Ikka Rahnasto, vice president of legal and intellectual property at Nokia, in a prepared statement. "By refusing to agree to appropriate terms for Nokia's intellectual property, Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia's innovation." Rahnasto said.

The lawsuit comes as Nokia tries to retain its status as the world's largest maker of cellphones, and as its market share in the profitable smartphone sector shrinks in the face of competition from the iPhone and other challengers.

In its in third quarter Nokia reported a loss of $836 million as its sales of smartphones slipped to 16.4 million units from 16.7 million in the previous quarter. By contrast, Apple reported earnings of $1.67 billion, up 46 percent from the prior year, and said it sold 7.4 million iPhones, a seven percent increase from the same period an year ago.

Last updated on Oct 23^rd, 2009 at 00:01 am IST--DPA