Nokia, along with its Alcatel-Lucent USA unit, filed two lawsuits against Apple on Dec 21 in federal court Marshall, Texas, alleging that Apple violated 10 patents related to products like the iPad, iPhone, Mac Computers, Apple Watch, and digital media players.
The first complaint saw Nokia accuse Apple of "steadfastly refusing" to license its patents for video coding at customary industry rates, according to Chicago Tribune. The second lawsuit, on the other hand, accuses Apple over infringement of 10 patents, majority of which are linked to transmission and amplification of radio signals.
In court, Apple said that after it had entered into a cross-line agreement with Nokia back in 2011, the Finnish company had selfish ambitions of "secretly planning to monetize" patents that were not part of the accord. The tech giant also said that Nokia has transformed itself as a company out of desperation.
According to the publication, Apple's defense team said all the lawsuits against the company are centered on Nokia's failure in the cellphone business. The company told the publication "It changed from a company focused on supplying cellphones and other consumer products to a company bent on exploiting the patents that remain from its years as a successful cellphone supplier."
Nokia-Apple patent battle has now fueled simmering tension between the two companies with each of them having different explanations on the subject. The legal action has now re-awakened the "smartphone patent wars," which began five years ago when apple filed similar lawsuits against Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) with victories and damages on both sides.
Nokia, a once world's dominant cellphone maker, missed the chance in the transition from traditional phones to smartphones, according to Reuters. Some of this failure is believed to have been triggered by Apple's introduction of the latter devices in 2007.
The Finnish company proceeded to sell its handset business to Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) two years ago. Microsoft has since sold the Nokia-feature phone business to HMD Global. Nokia agreed to license HMD for a 10-year period with the latter continuing to market low-cost Nokia-branded phones. HMD also plans to introduce new Nokia smartphones in 2017.
Nokia's only remaining ventures are its Telecom network equipment business and a protruding portfolio of mobile equipment patents. Watch the video below for a comprehensive story: