A court injunction has ended the long term Nokia vs Apple patent battle that dates back to 2007. Although the particulars are private Apple is to make a one time-payment followed by an ongoing royalty payment process for an unannounced term (period of time).
The agreement will result in settlement of all patent litigation between the companies, including the withdrawal by Nokia and Apple of their respective complaints to the US International Trade Commission.
Want the full scoop? Check below.
Historical Timeline
- November 2007 - Apple bumps heads with Nokia. Says Nokia S60 infringes on iPhone 3G patents.
- January 2008 – Apple, Nokia, RIM, Sprint, ATT, HP, Motorola, Helio, HTC, Sony Ericsson, UTStarcomm, Samsung and a bunch of others were sued by Affinity Labs of Texas. Apparently the company created a patent for a mobile phone with removable storage, an internet connection, a camera and the ability to download audio or video files.
- June 2008 - Typhoon Touch Technologies sues Apple, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Lenovo, Panasonic, HTC, Palm, Samsung, Nokia, and LG regarding touch screen patents
- October 2009 – Nokia Sues Apple for infringing on 10 patents with it’s iPhone 3G relating to GSM, UMTS, and WiFi
- December 2009 – Apple Sues Nokia for infringing on 13 patents claiming that the iPhone was a converged product of a traditional phone and the multimedia aspect of an iPod and therefore Nokia infringed on Apple patents with touch screen multimedia phones. Read the 79 page document here if you’d like. It’s quite the read.
- December 2009 – Nokia brings in the ITC (International Trades Commission) stating that “virtually all” Apple products infringe Nokia patents covering user interfaces, cameras, antennas, and power management.
- January 2010 – Nokia asks ITC to ban distribution and sale of iPhone, iPod, and MacBooks as they infringed on more “implementation patents” relating to touch screen and camera sensors. read about those here ITC Complaint and Federal Complaint
- January 2010 – Apple requests the ITC place an import ban on Nokia products. Document here
- March 2010 – US Federal Lawsuite puts hold on ITC investigation into Nokia and Apple patent infringement claims. Nokia asks court to dismiss all of Apple’s contract related claims
- May 2010 – Nokia sues Apple for patent claims relating to the iPad 3G stating Apple copied patents which “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.”
- December 2010 – Nokia ups the anti to 24 patent disputes. Press release here
- March 2011 – ITC rules Apple did not copy Nokia patents and therefore no legal actions or ban would be implemented. Documents here. Upon this news Nokia files a second ITC complaint against Apple saying all their products (phones, multimedia and computers) infringe on Nokia’s patents. Document here
- June 2011 – Nokia wins patent suit and Apple is to make a one time-payment followed by an ongoing royalty payment process for an unannounced term
Original Story Source [Press Release]
