Lawyer food
Apple has extended its legal battle with Nokia to the UK, Reuters reported yesterday. This move opens up a new front in a patent-based legal battle between the two companies that was initiated by Nokia in the US last year.
Apple soon counter-sued, as you do, and decided it might as well sue HTC while it was at it. Not wanting to miss out on all the fun, HTC lobbed a sue-grenade back at Apple.
There doesn't seem to be any official comment from Apple on what the precise nature of the UK legal action, but we did get a statement from Nokia, which implies this is merely the geographical extension of the suit already underway in the US.
"Apple's action is an unsurprising development, which seems designed to put pressure on the ongoing dialogue between both companies," said Nokia. "However, it changes nothing in the fundamentals of the matter, which are rooted in Apple's refusal to respect Nokia's intellectual property and attempt to free ride on the back of Nokia's innovation.
"We are examining Apple's claims, which appear to be based on 9 implementation patents already in suit between the two companies in the US. Though litigation is always a last resort for Nokia, the company will continue to defend itself to the utmost."
