Nokia, the world’s biggest cell phone manufacturer, and Apple, the maker of the popular iPhone smartphone, are currently in the midst of intense patent litigation. In October 2009, Nokia sued Apple for allegedly infringing on 10 patents that covered wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption. Apple countersued in response, accusing Nokia of infringing on 13 of their own patents.

Although it’s not clear why Nokia has decided to sue, there are numerous possible reasons for this course of action. According to analyst Gene Munster, Nokia is seeking to hasten the process of obtaining patent royalties on every iPhone sold after original discussions took over a year. However, an article in The Business Insider says it’s possible Nokia sued Apple to gain access to multi-touch patents, not to get money.

Apple denied infringing the patents and claimed that Nokia’s patents are not valid and shouldn’t be enforced. “Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not just by stealing ours,” said Bruce Sewell, Apple’s general counsel and senior vice president.

Currently, Nokia has licensing agreements with 40 other firms allowing them to use the firm’s technology.

News Source:- http://www.theticker.org

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