The article says ---------- During the last two decades, Nokia has invested approximately EUR 40 billion in research and development and built one of the wireless industry's strongest and broadest IPR portfolios, with over 11,000 patent families. ----------
Not 11,000 patents, but 11,000 patent families. Probably way, way more patents. Microsoft, Apple, and IBM also have patent libraries that you wouldn't believe. They're held in reserve like strategic nuclear weapons. If you make a widget with a button on it, IBM probably owns a patent, coiling kinetic energy storage system to inhibit task activation, I.E. the spring in your button. If you use a membrane panel instead, Nokia probably owns a patent, polymer device for inhibiting closed electrical circuit through conical relief cells. You might not know that, and go on building your widgets for a while. They might not even care. One day, though, if they want you out of business, they'll show up, demand a licensing fee for your springs, and, if you don't pay, they'll file and injunction and take away your springs. If you switch to membranes, they'll sue your supplier for patent infringement. If you think that sounds crazy, then you'll have to prove it in court. By the time you do, you'll be out of money, and they'll be back to business as usual. Although, after going after Nokia with some silly obvious patents, Apple deserves to get a little taste of its own medicine. Nokia doesn't expect to win. They are just telling Apple that, if they don't drop their claims, Nokia can make life very unpleasant for them. The patent system needs to die. It's just a way to shut the small guy out while giving the big boys tools to use for threatening each other and forming alliances of threat. Bryan -----Original Message----- From: macvisionaries@googlegroups.com [mailto:macvisionar...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Sarah Alawami Sent: Saturday, May 08, 2010 5:54 PM To: mac vissionaries Subject: o.t, maybe. Nokia sues Apple in Wisconsin for infringement of Nokia patents Subject: NOKIA - Nokia sues Apple in Wisconsin for infringement of Nokia patents NOKIA Nokia sues Apple in Wisconsin for infringement of Nokia patents Espoo, Finland - Nokia announced that it has today filed a complaint against Apple with the Federal District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin, alleging that Apple iPhone and iPad 3G products infringe five important Nokia patents. The patents in question relate to technologies for enhanced speech and data transmission, using positioning data in applications and innovations in antenna configurations that improve performance and save space, allowing smaller and more compact devices. These patented innovations are important to Nokia's success as they allow improved product performance and design. "Nokia has been the leading developer of many key technologies in mobile devices" said Paul Melin, General Manager, Patent Licensing at Nokia. "We have taken this step to protect the results of our pioneering development and to put an end to continued unlawful use of Nokia's innovation." During the last two decades, Nokia has invested approximately EUR 40 billion in research and development and built one of the wireless industry's strongest and broadest IPR portfolios, with over 11,000 patent families. Nokia is a world leader in the development of handheld device and mobile communications technologies, which is also demonstrated by Nokia's strong patent portfolio. About Nokia At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.2 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device - from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi (www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia's NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally. 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Factors that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to: 1) the competitiveness and quality of our portfolio of products and services and their combinations; 2) our ability to timely and successfully develop or otherwise acquire the appropriate technologies and commercialize them as new advanced products and services and their combinations, including our ability to attract application developers and content providers to develop applications and provide content for use in our devices; 3) our ability to effectively, timely and profitably adapt our business and operations to the requirements of the converged mobile device market and the services market; 4) the intensity of competition in the various markets where we do business and our ability to maintain or improve our market position or respond successfully to changes in the competitive environment; 5) the occurrence of any actual or even alleged defects or other quality, safety or security issues in our products and services and their combinations; 6) the development of the mobile and fixed communications industry and general economic conditions globally and regionally; 7) our ability to successfully manage costs; 8) exchange rate fluctuations, including, in particular, fluctuations between the euro, which is our reporting currency, and the US dollar, the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan, as well as certain other currencies; 9) the success, financial condition and performance of our suppliers, collaboration partners and customers; 10) our ability to source sufficient amounts of fully functional components, sub-assemblies, software, applications and content without interruption and at acceptable prices and quality; 11) our success in collaboration arrangements with third parties relating to the development of new technologies, products and services, including applications and content; 12) our ability to manage efficiently our manufacturing and logistics, as well as to ensure the quality, safety, security and timely delivery of our products and services and their combinations; 13) our ability to manage our inventory and timely adapt our supply to meet changing demands for our products; 14) our ability to protect the complex technologies, which we or others develop or that we license, from claims that we have infringed third parties' intellectual property rights, as well as our unrestricted use on commercially acceptable terms of certain technologies in our products and services and their combinations; 15) our ability to protect numerous Nokia, NAVTEQ and Nokia Siemens Networks patented, standardized or proprietary technologies from third-party infringement or actions to invalidate the intellectual property rights of these technologies; 16) the impact of changes in government policies, trade policies, laws or regulations and economic or political turmoil in countries where our assets are located and we do business; 17) any disruption to information technology systems and networks that our operations rely on; 18) our ability to retain, motivate, develop and recruit appropriately skilled employees; 19) unfavorable outcome of litigations; 20) allegations of possible health risks from electromagnetic fields generated by base stations and mobile devices and lawsuits related to them, regardless of merit; 21) our ability to achieve targeted costs reductions and increase profitability in Nokia Siemens Networks and to effectively and timely execute related restructuring measures; 22) developments under large, multi-year contracts or in relation to major customers in the networks infrastructure and related services business; 23) the management of our customer financing exposure, particularly in the networks infrastructure and related services business; 24) whether ongoing or any additional governmental investigations into alleged violations of law by some former employees of Siemens AG ("Siemens") may involve and affect the carrier-related assets and employees transferred by Siemens to Nokia Siemens Networks; 25) any impairment of Nokia Siemens Networks customer relationships resulting from ongoing or any additional governmental investigations involving the Siemens carrier-related operations transferred to Nokia Siemens Networks; as well as the risk factors specified on pages 11-32 of Nokia's annual report Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2009 under Item 3D. "Risk Factors." Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proving to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Nokia does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent legally required. Media Enquiries: Nokia Communications, North America Tel. +1 914 368 0423 Email: communication.c...@nokia.com Nokia Communications Tel. +358 7180 34900 Email: press.servi...@nokia.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. 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