Another legal battle between mobile giants is now getting underway.
Nokia has announced that it’s suing Apple in the US and Germany for allegedly infringing on Nokia patents. Nokia is suing over 32 patents in total, which cover tech related to the display, user interface, software, antenna, chipsets, and video coding.
"Through our sustained investment in research and development, Nokia has created or contributed to many of the fundamental technologies used in today's mobile devices, including Apple products,” said Ilkka Rahnasto, Nokia’s head of Patent Business. “After several years of negotiations trying to reach agreement to cover Apple's use of these patents, we are now taking action to defend our rights.”
Meanwhile, Apple has filed a complaint against Nokia. Apple says that after Nokia failed at making mobile devices, it changed its stance on FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) licensing for its standard-essential patents. Nokia then worked with other patent assertion entities (PAEs) to make royalty demands and infringement lawsuits with the goal of getting around its FRAND licensing terms.
While Nokia isn’t quite the major force in mobile that it was once, it’s still a notable company with patents to its name. And now it’s going after Apple, who is one of the biggest companies in tech right. It remains to be seen how this whole situation will play out, but this Nokia v. Apple battle will be worth keeping an eye on.
