Nokia has filed several separate lawsuits against HTC, ViewSonic and Research In Motion. The latter companies are accused of patent infringement for technology that is claimed to be protected by as many as 45 different patents related to hardware and software.
The hardware patents are said to involve technology such as dual-function antennas, power management and multimode radios, while the software patents describe elements of features such as application stores, multitasking, navigation, conversational message display, dynamic menus, data encryption and e-mail retrieval.
“We’d rather that other companies respect our intellectual property and compete using their own innovations,” said Nokia chief legal officer Louise Pentland. “But as these actions show, we will not tolerate the unauthorized use of our inventions.”
The company is already involved in separate patent battles, including countering lawsuits with Apple in a dispute that involves 37 patents related to cellphone technology. The Finnish handset maker, which holds more than 30,000 patents and patent applications, has pressed competitors to establish licensing agreements or face lawsuits in the US and various European countries.
The latest suit includes an International Trade Commission complaint against HTC, US lawsuits against HTC and Viewsonic, and lawsuits against HTC and RIM in Germany.
