Apple may be suing Nokia over touchscreen patents

So we all know that Nokia (NYSE: NOK) is working on an S60 Touch lineup. Touchscreens are the future and all the rage, so it makes sense that Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)’s starting to feel the pressure to keep ahead of the curve. Now, an analyst for London-based Nomura, Richard Windsor, is predicting that Apple may be unleash their legal hounds on Nokia over the 200+ iPhone-related patent filings.

Windsor said, “I think Apple will likely view Nokia as infringing on its user interface patents,” and may choose to affect “delays or holdups” in Nokia’s push to release their touch-based interface. Right, it’s one thing to sue a competitor to actually get a valid injunction or court-order levied against them. But, it’s a completely different story if Apple decides to pursue legal options in order to simply delay and cause grief for Nokia. Windsor predicts that any court-case would end in a settlement by 2009. Neither company would want another Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM)-style legal battle on their hands – especially Nokia.

We’re fairly confident that, should Apple decide to take Nokia to court, the end-game would be simply to make life harder on Nokia. The Finns have been making touchscreen devices for quite some time now, and Apple’s patent filings within the past several months will most likely not be sufficient grounds for any court-ordered injunction. Of course, there’s always the possibility that Apple could argue that Nokia is infringing on their iPhone’s user interface – but we know how well Apple was able to defend their Mac OS X user interface.

[Via: MacDailyNews]