Nokia today sued Apple claiming iPhone patent infringement. Nokia’s press release, verbatim:
Nokia sues Apple in Delaware District Court for infringement of Nokia GSM, UMTS and WLAN patents
October 22, 2009
Espoo, Finland – Nokia announced that it has today filed a complaint against Apple with the Federal District Court in Delaware, alleging that Apple’s iPhone infringes Nokia patents for GSM, UMTS and wireless LAN (WLAN) standards.
As a leading innovator in wireless communications, Nokia has created one of the strongest and broadest patent portfolios in the industry, investing more than EUR 40 billion in R&D during the last two decades. Much of this intellectual property, including the patents in suit, has been declared essential to industry standards. Nokia has already successfully entered into license agreements including these patents with approximately 40 companies, including virtually all the leading mobile device vendors, allowing the industry to benefit from Nokia’s innovation.
The ten patents in suit relate to technologies fundamental to making devices which are compatible with one or more of the GSM, UMTS (3G WCDMA) and wireless LAN standards. The patents cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption and are infringed by all Apple iPhone models shipped since the iPhone was introduced in 2007.
“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, Legal & Intellectual Property at Nokia. “Apple is also expected to follow this principle. By refusing to agree appropriate terms for Nokia’s intellectual property, Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia’s innovation.”
During the last two decades, Nokia has invested approximately EUR 40 billion in research and development and built one of the wireless industry’s strongest and broadest IPR portfolios, with over 10,000 patent families. Nokia is a world leader in the development of GSM technologies and its evolution to UMTS / 3G WCDMA as well as wireless LAN, which is also demonstrated by Nokia’s strong patent position in these technologies.
Source: Nokia
MacDailyNews Take: Can’t compete? Litigate.
Delaware? Who sues in the slow-ass Delaware courts?
Nokia is getting desperate. Sad.
Looks like they are running scared.
If you can’t beat em with better products… Sue-em
I’m sure if the tables were turned… Apple would be suing Nokia.
It seems lately that Apple is doing a lot of this lately. Hopefully others keep copying Apple. Karma is sweet.
This will get interesting. Apple is selling a small hand held multi touch computer that runs OS X and is able to do anything that Apple could do on the other devices that Apple produces. Oh, and it also makes wireless phone calls.
Will the Mac tablet be violating these patents when it wirelessly does iChat?
Is there any merit to this lawsuit? I, in standard mac-Nazi fashion, usually shake my head and mutter (or post) a degrading comment. But I am genuinely curious because I think the answer can shed a lot more light on the state of mobile tech than many of us realize.
First, did it really take over two years to figure this out and file the suit?
Second, over 10,000 patents? How does any company go through every similar device and make sure they don’t infringe on any patents?
Hey, just to be fair, Apple has its own cadre of legal sharks to quash anything remotely, even imaginarily Apple-ish. All’s fair in love and business.
Where was the lawsuit two years ago? They should have filed this from day one. What does other phone makers do? Do they pay Nokia? If so than why have they not complained? Well a lot of lawyers are going to make money that could have been spent on R&D;for both companies.
Over 200 Apple patents on iPhone… and Nokia still found some stuff to get monney from?
If only, right from scratch, they’d be that clever to create such a smart phone by their own!… 8o
Just because you file a patent, it does not mean your patent will stand up to scrutiny. Just because you file 10,000 patents, that does not automatically mean they are legitimate patents. Anyone can file a patent and there is a lot of nuance and legal issues involved.
Let’s wait to see Apple’s response before jumping the gun.
Unfortunately, many companies settle out of court when faced with a patent lawsuit as they can be expensive to defend against. However, the stakes are high here and Apple has the warchest to defend itself. Let’s see what happens.
Apple is no different from any other hi-tech company…steal technology and wait to be sued…Apple is no stranger to the courts when suing others for infringement of their patents. Lets all no get too emotional it is only business!
I love the smell of desperation in the morning!!!
I don’t understand what the problem is. If the situation would be reversed then surely everybody here would agree that Nokia should have to pay to Apple if there indeed would be a case of infringement, OTOH if there is no case – then fine, case closed ..move on..
Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia’s innovation.”
Laughed like a school girl. Brilliant.
Gee MDN, that is a lame take, because it implies that Apple can’t compete either when Apple sues…
Given that all of the telecoms/comms stuff in the iPhone comes from other chip manufacturers like Broadcom, surely Nokia’s beef would be with those companies.
Unless they’re on a fishing expedition.
Anyone can sue anybody anytime for anything. It doesn’t mean it has merit.
If there is any truth (and proof) to this, then Nokia is entitled to standard licensing fees, which Apple certainly is aware of and would naturally accept…I can’t see any reason for a law suit other than the lame publicity to pump up Nokia’s name in the face of a disgraceful quarterly performance and loss.
Why the big legal press announcement, instead or formal industry protocol and agreements?
Nokia is so desperate and reeling from being trashed by the iPhone that they’re trying to take away some of Apple’s iPhone thunder and lightning that’s responsible for it’s massive earnings loss and disgraceful underestimation and dis-ing of the iPhone.
Kind of reminds me of Dell’s and Palm’s dis…
Apple does not make the radios that connect to any of these.
Apple purchases them and incorporates them in the device, that uses the patented tech, should it not be up to the manufacturers of the radios to get licenses?
IE:
The Wi-Fi chip from Broadcom (if WiFi is infringing then Broadcom should have gotten a license) or Infineon Technologies for the WCDMA radio.
When companies fail to “design” themselves out of trouble… there always the courts!
“Beleaguered Nokia sues Apple…”
According to this MDN article (http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/22810/) Nokia’s entire company is only worth $48 billion… so I guess that $40 billion *euros* the company invested in R-and-D (bragged about _twice_ in the press release) was a really brilliant investment!
They’d have done better to give the money back to the shareholders.
So Su(o)mi
The name is so fitting!
<i>”@ breeze
If there is any truth (and proof) to this, then Nokia is entitled to standard licensing fees, which Apple certainly is aware of and would naturally accept.”<i>
How dare you say this?? Are a a Microsoft Troll! This is MDN. Apple and Steve Jobs are allowed to do anything they want and the world is just supposed to bow down and ignore silly things like patent infringements..
Get with the program…
Watch for a cross-licensing agreement out of this with no fees. Nokia wants access to Apple’s patents. Without some of Apple’s technology, Nokia will continue to lose marketshare.
Legal battles on things like industry standard technologies is foolish. All industry standard technologies need to be royalty free. If company X (in this case Nokia) want’s their IP to be an Industry standard then they need to give up all claims for royalties and transfer the patent to a non-profit IP holding organization that would make it available as a standard for free. Failure to do so, should result in the industry picking a standard that will be free. This would or course prevent these types of case over patent claims for so called standard technologies.
IP Patent Claims on Industry standards in dumb and only benefits the legal firms involved.
No Nokia, your lawyers are already dead.
@Alx: Steve Jobs is usually right, reasonable,tries to keep an open mind and his long standing record certainly proves this. If he wasn’t Apple would not be what it is today, not would Pixar…
It wouldn’t hurt to know the facts and details of anything before barking and making mountains out of molehills, you know…it’s kind of like premature ejaculation….
“@ breeze
@Alx: Steve Jobs is usually right, reasonable,tries to keep an open mind and his long standing record certainly proves this.”
Couldn’t agree more Breeze, I’m wrong!!! Steve is always right!!!! I should kiss the life sized picture of his ass that you having hanging in your bedroom!!!!!
And please, don’t make me laugh at you and other fanboys claiming to “know the facts”… pfffttttt
As someone who has worked as an microelectronics packaging engineer in the telecomm industry, this is possible.
Sometimes Asian firms sell you silicon that contains technology that they have no right to resell (except in ASIA where intellectual property is a very loose term). They expect the buyer to get all the legal stuff done from their end. SO, Apple may very well be at fault…without having any idea of the pickle they got themselves into.
just my $0.02
Apple has a much bigger patent portfolio than Nokia. I’m sure Nokia has violated a few Apple patents as well.
A countersuit and negotiations are in order.
@Alx: The facts are publicly available to anyone who wants to invest the time energy and interest. When Jobs is proven wrong by result or reality ( as opposed to what second guessers who aren’t capable of making two ends fit, think) he has never been shy to admit and apologize.
It’s not about being right , but about mattering…
Read this article and say AMEN after:
http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/22/wealth-greed-success-leadership-careers-managing.html?partner=yahootix
@ Big Als MBP
Not sure that Apple has more patents than Nokia. Nokia is a much larger company than Apple with multiple times the revenue. I think they sold 400 million phones last year for example.
Actually, I think that Nokia is in the best position of current tech companies to make computers that could challenge Apple. Too bad their new “Booklet” netbook runs Windows.
If Nokia were to put its R&D;behind a Linux based OS, I think they could actually compete against Apple. Nokia does have a history of manufacturing quality and innovation. Linus Torvalds and Nokia are both Finnish. Must be something in the water there.
@ breeze,
You might as well argue with a gastrointestinal virus that keeps coming back and giving you the raging shits. The results will always be the same.
The strategic counter-moves are rather obvious:
1) Apple countersues Nokia for violation of its IP;
2) And either by virtue of this move or of its own volition, Nokia and Apple come to agree on some sort of contract to share each others’ IP…
“I’m sure if the tables were turned… Apple would be suing Nokia. “
Don’t be so sure. Apple has released its IP (royalty free) to governing standards bodies on several occasions in order to further an industry standard.
@ Planar
Nokia’s a larger company than Apple? That depends on how you figure. Apple is *worth* nearly 4 times Nokia, so in that sense, Apple is much larger. In terms of profit, Apple is larger. In terms of raw revenue, Nokia is larger, but not by that much, and Apple, of course, is far more profitable. In terms of unit sales, Nokia sells more items, but most of those are incredibly cheap phones to the third world and make no one any money. In terms of employes, I would suspect Nokia has far more than Apple (and 2/3 of Apple’s work in retail at their stores), but does that matter?
The bottom line is *importance*. If Nokia were to disappear tomorrow would anyone notice or care? If it were Apple, half the world would go into mourning!
MDN are you saying Apple cannot compete if they sue. So if they do end up suing someone for using multi-touch, I guess you openly are bending over and taking one up the wazoo. Wow. Very hypocritical of you and it lessens your credibility for future comments.
If Nokia spent the money, owns the patent, and Apple is infringing, they damn well should pay. If it were the other way, the result would be the same. As for the ignoram-anuses that are going on about 2 years between lawsuits, they take a long time to build the case. Get some common sense and figure that out on your own man! Apple takes its’ time as well.
My personal take is that Nokia will offset these royalty fees for a royalty-free use of multi-touch technology while Apple will sue all other infringers – RIM, HTC, MS, Palm etc.. However, not sure Apple will agree to the deal.
Michael Y is bang on.
” And either by virtue of this move or of its own volition, Nokia and Apple come to agree on some sort of contract to share each others’ IP…”
It is strange for Nokia to sue Apple and not the radio mfr of the GSM, UMTS or WLAN parts.
As for the person who thought Nokia could make a killer Linux OS, well, they have a Linux OS called the Maemo, and it is on their N800 series of communicator devices and they are putting them on their future high-end devices.
I can’t believe the attitude here. Assuming the facts are as indicated, that a large number of other companies are licensing the ip, that is clear evidence that the patents are legitimate. Nokia has been extremely innovative in the wireless comm arena for many years. If Apple is infringing they should have to pay licensing fees. The press release language implies that Apple and Nokia have been in licensing discussions for quite some time. Apple is probably trying to be cheap and Nokia is finally resorting to the courts. That is just how these things work. No villians here, just business.
just business.
Delaware? Man, Nokia really is clueless. Everybody knows the eastern district of Texas is where it’s at. Ask any patent shark.
multi-touch, iPhone look-a-likes, App store rip-off, just to name a few really obvious reasons to counter sue.
It’s hard to believe that if every other cell phone manufacturer on the planet pays for Nokia’s licensed technology that Apple would refuse.
So, either it was a huge oversight on Apple’s part. Or, maybe the iPhone uses other technologies to interact with these networks that doesn’t infringe on the patents.
It’ll get sorted out and Apple will shell out if it has to. Or Nokia will be paying Apple’s attorney fees in a countersuit. We’ll see.
Here’s my take: Apple doesn’t make the chips in the iPhone that handle the radio interface; someone else (Broadcom?) does. Apple thinks that whoever is making the chips should be paying the licensing fees to Nokia and therefore there’s no need for Apple to have a direct license. Undoubtedly the parties have tried to negotiate, and Nokia is not getting their way and would rather take a chance on litigation. Typically, it will all be sorted out on the courthouse steps and no one will know what the real settlement was.
Another thing, since these patents are part of a global standard, Nokia is probably required to license them on a “non-discriminatory” basis (otherwise the whole standardization regime collapes). So, it may be a matter of whether the fees, set on the basis of 100s of millions of cheap dumb phones, apply to something like an iPhone.
boo apple go Nokia
Boy, Nokia! Your lawyers sure are quick on getting a lawsuit out the door. The latest iPhone hardware came out when, end of June!
Did it take you 4 months to finally pop the thing apart and inspect it?
The timing of this is a marketing stunt. If I was Jobs, I would buy Nokia before I would settle out of court just as a statement of principle.
I just wrote a song that had a D chord in it…do you think I’ll get sued?
@iStepchild….is your Dad also your mother’s sister?
Nokia and Apple have been talking about this over 2 years but they haven’t come to an agreement, hence the lawsuit.
Don’t ya ppl make an issue out of this, otherwise it comes back to hunt you when Apple makes similar claims against some other company.
It’s a wait and see…
In a market driven world, it is survival of the fittest. Innovate or revert back to a Finnish lumber company.
By the time this is likely thrown out of court, Apple innovation and world-wide customer demand for the LTE version of the iPhone will have vaporized another 20% of Nokia status quo.
I believe in giving credit where it’s due, so if Apple is infringing, then boo on them . . .
That being said . . . Nokia, your Market Cap is on 49B . . . a couple more good quarters and Apple can buy your sorry @$$3$ . . . not that they’d want to.
Steve Jobs January 2007: And boy, have we patented it!
Steve Jobs October 2009: And boy, have we patented it?
Predictable outcome: Apple files a counter suit. In a year’s time there is a quiet article saying that they have made an agreement to exchange patent portfolios.
Just my guess… i didnt read anyone else’s comment…
Nokia was smart… waiting for the right time to try to pull this off. Trying to leverage this deal… BEFORE Apple sues them for interface infringements.
This is hilarious…
There could be a settlement out there. By that time, Apple might have $50 U.S. Billion in the bank.
My guess is Apple countersues.
And really… in this case other handset producers will be interested. A precedent here will affect EVERYONE… LG, Samsung, HTC, MSFT, Siemens, Moto, Panasonic, Sony/Ericcson, RIMM, did i miss anyone?
But… NOKIA is going after the biggest threat with the most $$$ 1st.
I think that Nokia is trying to get apple to cross licence their patents. This way atleast they will get some cards in their hand else it is increasingly difficult to get Apple to negotiating table.