Apple Countersues Nokia

Calling Nokia A Thief

Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 12/11/2009

Cupertino, Calif. - Apple filed a countersuit against Nokia, claiming the cellphone giant is infringing 13 Apple patents.

"Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not just by stealing ours," said Bruce Sewell, Apple senior VP and general counsel, in a statement.

Apple didn't specify the patents or the court in which it sued.

In October, Nokia filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Apple in Federal District Court in Delaware, contending all iPhones from the first ones shipped in 2007 infringe on 10 Nokia patents. The patents were said to relate to "technologies fundamental to making devices [that] are compatible with one or more of the GSM, UMTS (3G WCDMA) and wireless LAN standards," Nokia said. The patents cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption.

At the time, Nokia VP Ilkka Rahnasto contended, "Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia's innovation." Nokia had said it has entered into license agreements that include these patents with about 40 companies, including "virtually all the leading mobile device vendors."