by Administrator
10. May 2010 20:17
Nokia, one of the biggest mobile phone manufacturers, has filed a lawsuit against Apple due to the features available in their iPads.
Nokia are claiming there are infringements in the technology used in the transmission of data, when enhancing speech and the antenna features for virtual desktop users.
This is the most recent legal issue, between the two companies that have had many patent issues in the past. Unfortunately the lawsuit came on the same day that Apple announced plans to release the iPad in nine countries on the 28th May, however the impact this has had on their campaign is unclear.
Paul Melin, general manager of patent licensing at Nokia, said, "We've taken this step to protect the results of our pioneering development and to put an end to continued unlawful use of Nokia's innovation."
Nokia has invested about £34 billion in research and filed 11,000 patents, but in such a competitive market it is understandable why different companies develop similar ideas and technology. As a result there have been more than one infringement suit in recent years.
Just last year Nokia filed another lawsuit against Apple for another infringement, which resulted in a countersuit against smartphones. Similarly Apple has been involved in another legal debate with Taiwan's HTC, maker of Google's Nexus One phone. The Taiwanese company has allegedly infringed on Apple patented technology.
An expert for technology patents has said, that patents are common in the technology industry due to the similarities of various products, and that in most cases a dispute ends with some sort of licensing agreement. So the iPad will still be available for sale on May 28th for virtual desktop users.