Nokia has filed patent-related claims in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, alleging that Apple infringes Nokia patents in many of its products sold in these countries.
The patents are related to a range of technologies used on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, including touch user interfaces, on-device app stores, signal noise suppression, antenna structures and messaging functionality. It’s the latest legal action in a Nokia/Apple battle that started in the USA over a year ago.
Paul Melin, vice president of Intellectual Property at Nokia, said “These actions add 13 further Nokia patents to the 24 already asserted against Apple in the US International Trade Commission and the Delaware and Wisconsin Federal courts. The Nokia inventions protected by these patents include several which enable compelling user experiences. For example, using a wiping gesture on a touch screen to navigate content, or enabling access to constantly changing services with an on-device app store, both filed more than ten years before the launch of the iPhone.”
Nokia says it’s invested approximately 40 billion Euro in research and development during the last 20 years.