Businessweek reports details to the patent infringement document filed Last December by Apple in response to Nokia’s suit. Apple accuses Nokia of acting to monopolize the market in wireless technologies. This would involve violation of antitrust law and maneuvers to misled five different groups in charge of establishing industry standards. The latest claim supports the idea that Nokia did not reveal to the groups that it owns many of the technologies validated as standards for Wi-Fi and wireless transmissions, ensuring that patented invention would then be standards and ensure royalties. Mobile phone manufacturers would have then no other choices than licensing those technologies from Nokia, in a monopoly status.
Apple is also claiming that Nokia tried to force Cupertino to license some of its proprietary technologies giving the Finish group all legal aspect to develop mobile phone models with hardware features very similar to those found in the iPhone.
Apple decided to follow a new strategy to fight Nokia's suits, by not only defending itself, but firing back and trying to obtain cancelation of mentioned Nokia's patents linked to standards definition in Wi-Fi and wireless technologies. This is a smart move as other mobile manufacturers would most likely remain neutral, or might even support Apple's move against Nokia as they ended up to pay lots of money to Nokia for those licensing. For sure, the European Commission might also find this information interesting and could also follow carefully evolution of this battle if it can be proven that Nokia misled groups defining industry standards by withholding information on its patent portfolio.
