Apple To Nokia: Stop Violating Our Patents

"Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not just by stealing ours," said Apple General Counsel Bruce Sewell in a statement from Apple confirming the countersuit.

Apple did not immediately confirm where it filed the suit, nor did it name the 13 patents it's accusing Nokia of violating.

Nokia's original suit, filed Oct. 22 in Federal District Court in Delaware, alleges that Apple infringes Nokia patents for GSM, UMTS and wireless LAN standards with the way its iPhone is built. Nokia's claim is at that Apple is enjoying a "free ride" on the use of those patents instead of properly compensating Nokia.

"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, in a statement at the time of the filing.

Nokia has not indicated what it is seeking in damages from Apple. According to Nokia, about 40 vendors have signed agreements to use the Nokia technology in question, but Apple isn't one of them.

Neither Nokia nor Apple responded immediately to Channelweb.com requests for comment.

Apple reported 7.4 million iPhones sold in its most recent quarter, a year-over-year growth rate of 7 percent. The picture hasn't been so rosy for Nokia, which has seen significant sales decline this year and has stumbled to break into key markets like North America, despite its continued status as the world market share leader for handsets.