Nokia is really pushing hard to put the hurt on Apple’s legal team. Nokia first sued Apple in late October for allegedly violating 10 wireless patents held by Nokia. When Apple pushed back and counter sued Nokia for 13 wireless patents, Nokia turned right around and sued Apple for an additional 7 patents while simultaneously complaining to the US International Trade Commission (ITC) about Apple shenanigans. Today, we’re hearing that Nokia has filed yet another lawsuit against Apple and that Nokia has asked that the ITC ban imports of Apple products like the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and MacBook.
This latest patent infringement lawsuit was filed in a Delaware federal court, claiming that Apple is infringing on “implementation patents” related to mobile technologies like cameras, user interfaces, and touchscreens. This is the second Nokia lawsuit claiming that Apple is violating device patents, while the original lawsuit claims that Apple is violating Nokia patents related to wireless GSM technologies. By the looks of it, Espoo is throwing everything they have against Apple in a bid to get the leverage they need to settle the case for loads of cash. And, to tighten their squeeze on Apple, Nokia has apparently asked the ITC to ban Apple products from entering the US.
This isn’t the first time the ITC has been dragged into a patent battle between two giant companies. The ITC has a great deal of power over technology companies like Apple. If imports of their iPhone and MacBook products are banned outright, like Nokia is asking the ITC to do, Apple will take a significant hit to their bottom line. That would give Nokia an upper-hand in any settlement negotiations with Apple. We’ll be keeping an eye out for the ITC’s decision on this matter.
[Via: AppleInsider]