Nokia sues Apple over iPhone

Cell phone giant Nokia Corp. filed a lawsuit against Apple Inc. on Thursday, alleging that its iPhone infringes on its patents.

Specifically, the Finland-based company said Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500)’s iPhone violates 10 patents covering wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption.

Nokia, which filed the suit in the Federal District Court of Delaware, attests that the technologies have been used in every iPhone model shipped since the smartphone was introduced in 2007.

Nokia (NOK) said it has invested more than €40 billion — about $60 billion — in research and development during the past two decades and has created “one of the strongest and broadest” patent portfolios in the industry.

“The basic principle in the mobile industry is that those companies who contribute technology development to establish standards create intellectual property, which others then need to compensate for,” said Ikka Rahnasto, vice president of legal and intellectual property at Nokia, in a prepared statement.

Nokia, which is the world’s largest handset manufacturer, said it has signed licensing agreements with 40 other companies, allowing them use of the technologies that are cited in its lawsuit against Apple.

“Apple is also expected to follow this principle. By refusing to agree to appropriate terms for Nokia’s intellectual property, Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia’s innovation,” Rahnasto said.

Apple spokeswoman Susan Lundgren declined to comment, saying, “Apple doesn’t comment on pending litigation.”

In its third-quarter earnings reports, Nokia said its smartphones market share fell to 35% from 41% in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, Apple reported its most profitable quarter ever, boosted by 7.4 million iPhone sales, up 41% from last year.

Shares of Apple were down less than 1% on the news, while Nokia’s were up 1.46% in midday trading.

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