Nokia sues Apple for patent infringements in US and Germany

Nokia said on Wednesday it has filed a number of complaints against Apple in Germany and the US, accusing the iPhone maker of infringing on Nokia patents.

Nokia’s lawsuits cover 32 patents on technologies such as display, user interface, software, antenna, chipsets and video coding. These lawsuits stem from a disagreement between Apple and Nokia over licensing fees for Nokia Technology.

“Since agreeing a license covering some patents from the Nokia Technologies portfolio in 2011, Apple has declined subsequent offers made by Nokia to license other of its patented inventions which are used by many of Apple’s products,” the company said in a statement.

The Finnish telecoms equipment firm said it had negotiated for “several years” with Apple but is now “taking action.”

“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, head of patent business at Nokia.

“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.”

Nokia has filed the lawsuits in courts in Dusseldorf, Mannheim and Munich in Germany and the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, and “is in the process of filing further actions in other jurisdictions”, it said.

Nokia’s move comes a day after Apple filed an antitrust lawsuit against Acacia Research Corp and Conversant Intellectual Property Management, accusing them of colluding with Nokia to extract and extort exorbitant revenues unfairly from Apple.