Apple may be well known for being a bloodhound in legal disputes, but that does not mean that the Cupertino based company is the only one with fangs to bear. The world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer, Nokia, has recently filed a patent infringement lawsuit over several technologies which are allegedly being used by the new launched Apple iPad touch screen tablet.
There is an official announcement of the matter in the Nokia website: “Nokia announced that it has today filed a complaint against Apple with the Federal District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin, alleging that Apple iPhone and iPad 3G products infringe five important Nokia patents.”
While the lawsuit is not as expansive as the one that Apple recently filed against Taiwanese manufacturer HTC (which covers 20 hardware and software patents), the entirety of the 5 patents mostly cover technology that has been used in the Apple iPad.
“The patents in question relate to technologies for enhanced speech and data transmission, using positioning data in applications and innovations in antenna configurations that improve performance and save space, allowing smaller and more compact devices. These patented innovations are important to Nokia’s success as they allow improved product performance and design.”
Regarding the reason for filing the lawsuit, Nokia’s general manager of patent licensing, Paul Melin, has stated that: “Nokia has been the leading developer of many key technologies in mobile devices. We have taken this step to protect the results of our pioneering development and to put an end to continued unlawful use of Nokia’s innovation.”
At the very least, Nokia has been kind enough as to not imply that Apple was stealing technology –as opposed to the what Apple stated regarding HTC, particularly Steve jobs, who was very vocal about his disappointment with the alleged acts of the Taiwanese company.
Tags: Apple, Apple-iPad, AppleiPhone, Elan, HTC, Lawsuit, Nokia