Nokia has gone after Apple, filing a patent claim that accuses its rival of infringing on ten of its patents.
The iPhone violates Nokia patents covering GSM, UMTS and WLAN standards, Nokia alleged in the lawsuit filed in a US federal court yesterday.
The patents cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption, Nokia said. Apple is accused of violating the patents on every iPhone model shipped since its introduction in 2007.
“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,” Nokia's VP of intellectual property, Ilkka Rahnasto said.
Currently around 40 companies, including nearly all the world's largest mobile device vendors, have entered into a license agreement over the patents, Rahnasto added. The case could see Nokia receive a portion of the profits every time an iPhone is sold.
An intellectual property lawyer told the Times Online that Nokia was playing a high-stakes game – if the company wins, it will receive a hefty windfall from future iPhone sales, but it risks having the valuable patents declared invalid if it loses.
Nokia currently holds over 10,000 patents related to wireless technology.
Apple has so far declined to comment on the case.