Nokia patent suit against Apple expands to include iPad

Last Updated on Wednesday, 12 May 2010 03:55 Written by info Wednesday, 12 May 2010 03:55

According to Nokia, the company 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.  The suit expands upon a long-brewing patent dispute between Apple and Nokia.

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.

“Nokia has been the leading developer of many key technologies in mobile devices” said Paul Melin, General Manager, Patent Licensing at Nokia. “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.”

During the last two decades, Nokia has invested approximately EUR 40 billion in research and development and built one of the wireless industry’s strongest and broadest IPR portfolios, with over 11,000 patent families. Nokia is a world leader in the development of handheld device and mobile communications technologies, which is also demonstrated by Nokia’s strong patent portfolio.

Nokia class action securities fraud lawsuit is big news in Finland

Last Updated on Friday, 26 February 2010 09:43 Written by info Friday, 26 February 2010 09:43

The securities fraud class action lawsuit pending in U.S. courts is all over the Finnish business papers.  For example, this article in Helsingin Sanomat describes the class action:

The mobile telephone giant Nokia faces a class-action suit in the United States. The suit was filed on behalf of investors on Friday last week in a US district court in New York. It concerns statements given out by the company in January and September of 2008 on the production volume of mobile telephones.
Nokia issued a statement on the lawsuit, saying that the accusations are without merit. The company plans to fight the demands by all means available.

According to the suit, Nokia failed to disclose its shortage of components and its production problems in the early part of 2008 when it presented its new products.
The plaintiffs also say that Nokia failed to disclose a decline in its market share as its competitors were slashing their prices, and as its average sales prices were declining.
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The class-action suit is being pursued by the law firm Coughlin, Stoia, Geller, Rudman & Robbins on behalf of the pension fund of the municipal employees of the city of Roseville.
Nokia has faced similar class-action suits in 1995 and 2004. Both times the suits did not go to court, because they were rejected as being without merit.

The other Nokia lawsuit

Last Updated on Tuesday, 9 February 2010 05:46 Written by info Tuesday, 9 February 2010 05:46

Most of the posts here have focused on the securities fraud class action lawsuit that shareholders have filed against Nokia, but there’s another lawsuit involving Nokia that investors should be aware of.

Nokia has filed lawsuits before the International Trade Commission (ITC) and also in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against Apple, alleging patent infringement.   Specifically, Nokia asserts in the patent lawsuits that Apple’s iPhone 3G and 3GS infringe patents involving things like  a “programmable voltage controlled oscillator” (whatever that is),  a method for combining speaker and antenna assemblies, and a method to link contextual data from an email to cause an application to open and perform a specific function.  Nokia also claims that the click-wheel on many iPods (but not the iPod Touch) violates a patent it has on combining multiple inputs in one interface [ed note: that is patentable?  really?], and that every Apple device with a built-in camera, including MacBook laptops, violates a patent on a method to combine camera functions on a single chip.