Handset manufacturing giant Nokia has filed a complaint against Apple with the US International Trade Commission, saying its iPod and Mac products infringe on the company’s patents.
The complaint claims Apple is using patented Nokia technology to manufacture product features such as user interfaces, along with camera, antenna and power management systems. Nokia says Apple infringes its patents in “virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players and computers”.
The two companies have been involved in legal battles for quite some time, with Nokia filing a lawsuit last October against Apple allegedly infringing on 10 of its patents. Apple itself has sued Nokia, claiming another 13 patent infringements.
“While our litigation in Delaware is about Apple’s attempt to free-ride on the back of Nokia investment in wireless standards, the ITC case filed today is about Apple’s practice of building its business on Nokia’s proprietary innovation,” Paul Melin, general manager for patent licensing at Nokia, said in a statement.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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