The battle between cell phone makers Apple and Nokia escalated Friday, as Apple announced that it has filed a countersuit alleging the Finnish company has infringed on 13 patents.
In October, Nokia sued Apple over the alleged use of patented wireless standards in the iPhone. Nokia has argued that the iPhone infringes on GSM and wireless LAN patents it owns. That suit involves 10 patents owned by Nokia.
In a brief press release Friday, Apple announced its countersuit as a “response” to Nokia’s own legal action.
“Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not just by stealing ours,” said Bruce Sewell, Apple’s General Counsel and senior vice president.
Update: In its defense, Apple has argued that Nokia’s patents are all related to standards, which means they have been committed to be licensed freely and without discrimination by Nokia. Nokia’s own complaint seeks special licensing terms from Apple, and access to the company’s own patents.
Apple has alleged that Nokia is attempting to obtain more money from it than other companies, plus rights to Apple’s intellectual property — all after the Finnish company has committed itself to nondiscriminatory licensing.
“In dealing with Apple, Nokia has sought to gain an unjust competitive advantage over Apple by charging unwarranted fees to use patents that allegedly cover industry compatibility standards and by seeking to obtain access to Apple’s intellectual property,” the suit reads. “Nokia needs access to Apple’s intellectual property because Nokia has copied and is now using that patented technology.”
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Apple countersues Nokia over cell phone technology [U x2]