Nokia has announced that it has filed a complaint against Apple with the Federal District Court in Delaware, alleging that Apple's iPhone infringes Nokia patents for GSM, UMTS and wireless LAN standards.
 
Nokia is naming ten patents in the suit that relate to technologies "fundamental to making devices which are compatible with one or more of the GSM, UMTS (3G WCDMA) and wireless LAN standards".

The patents cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption and have apparently all been infringed by all Apple iPhone models shipped since the iPhone was introduced in 2007.

Nokia says it has spent over 40 billion euros over the last 20 years on various patents, some of which have made it to being the industry standard. While almost all the major mobile manufacturers pay Nokia for licence agreements to use the tech covered by the patents, it appears Apple has refused to do so.

"The basic principle in the mobile industry is that those companies who contribute in technology development to establish standards create intellectual property, which others then need to compensate for", said Ilkka Rahnasto, vice president, legal & intellectual property at Nokia.

"Apple is also expected to follow this principle. By refusing to agree appropriate terms for Nokia's intellectual property, Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia's innovation".

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