The legal tussle between Nokia and Apple is escalating. Nokia (NYSE: NOK) has filed a lawsuit against Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) for patent infringement, arguing that the company's iPhone and iPad products infringe on five of Nokia's patents. Late last year Nokia filed a similar lawsuit against Apple claiming that the iPhone infringed on certain patents.
This latest lawsuit against Apple was filed in Federal District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin and covers patents that were not previously covered in the earlier legal dispute between the two smartphone makers.
"The patents in question relate to technologies for enhanced speech and data transmission, using positioning data in applications and innovations in antenna configurations that improve performance and save space, allowing smaller and more compact devices," Nokia said in a statement. "These patented innovations are important to Nokia's success as they allow improved product performance and design." An Apple spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Apple and Nokia have been locked in a legal dispute over patents since last fall. In March, a federal judge in Delaware put competing patent-infringement claims between the two companies on hold while the U.S. International Trade Commission tries to resolve the dispute. In April, the judge decided to split the main case into three trials, which will begin in 2012.
In other Apple news, the company's iPad 3G appears to be sold out in retail stores across the country. The 3G version of the iPad, which runs on AT&T Mobility's (NYSE: T) network, went on sale last weekend, and, although unconfirmed by Apple, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster estimated Apple sold about 300,000 iPad 3G devices between last Friday afternoon and Sunday afternoon, including 52 days of pre-orders.
Apple also said that, after a brief delay, the tablet will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK May 28. Pre-orders will begin May 10.
For more:
- see this Nokia release
- see this iPad release
- see this Bloomberg article
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