"Right back" might be an exaggeration, as Apple has taken almost 2 months to do so, but it is now suing Nokia in response to a recent case the Finnish phone manufacturer brought against the iPhone maker.

Apple has issued a statement to the press revealing that it has filed a countersuit claiming that in fact, it's Nokia doing the infringing - to the tune of 13 Apple patents.

"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.

Apple's case beats Nokia's by two patents - Nokia named 10 that 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.

Apple does not provide details of which patents it considers Nokia has infringed, but the theft accusation from Sewell is a nice soundbite is response to Nokia's corresponding "free ride" exec quote at the time:

"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".

Nokia is also currently suing a group of LCD manufacturers to get compensation for overpaying for displays, with both cases suggested by some as a way for Nokia, hit by the downturn, to raise revenue.

Via: apple.com

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