Nokia's legal case against Apple has spread from the iPhone to almost all of the popular tech company’s MP3 players and computers, as both sides expect a long, expensive courtroom battle.
The U.S. International Trade Commission has received the legal complaint from Nokia, and will now analyze the claim that "virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, and computer" technologies infringe on Nokia patents.
The ITC now has 30 days to determine whether or not it will open a formal investigation, and schedule a hearing.
Nokia claims Apple's iPhone, iPods, PCs and notebooks violate its intellectual property rights, saying technologies ranging from user interface to power management and antenna technologies were stolen.
Since Apple is using Nokia's technologies, it is able to reduce manufacturing costs, extend battery life and make smaller products -- all of which helps Apple release more appealing products.
The No. 1 global phone manufacturer is rolling the dice by dragging Apple into court, but it could pay out in the long-run, analysts note.
"To some degree it is a desperate move, but Nokia has been in the mobile handset business from the very beginning and has many more patents than Apple, so it's likely that Apple to some extent at least has used some of Nokia's patents, and maybe some others' too," said Greger Johansson, Redeye analyst, in a statement to Reuters. "It's probably (happening) because Nokia has had a tough time in the last 1-2 years ... if Nokia had been making great progress in the smartphone market I don't think (the patents) would be a big issue."
I agree with Johansson's statement that this is Nokia's latest effort to try and battle back into relevancy. The company remains the No. 1 mobile phone company in the world, with success in Europe and Asia, but has faltered in the North American market. Nokia recently announced it will close both U.S. retail stores, and has just one Linux smartphone planned for 2010. It also launched the 5235 music phone, but actual demand for such a device isn't expected to be substantial, especially as consumers shift to smartphones.
