Nokia, Apple to slug it out in court as dispute over patent infringements heats up

Nokia and Apple the two phone giants caught in a bitter legal battle that started last October, have traded charges on a number of occasions.

The feud started with Nokia charging that Apple had used its patented technologies without making payments, with Apple filing a counter-complaint with the US  International Trade Commission (ITC) on Friday.

Nokia said it would study the complaint when it is received and continue to defend itself vigourously.

According to a company spokesman, this would however, not alter the fact  that Apple had failed to agree appropriate terms for using Nokia technology and has been freely using it since it first shipped the first iPhone in 2007.

In late December Nokia in a claim filed with the ITC alleged that Apple had infringed seven of its patents in nearly all its mobile phones, portable music players and computers that it sold.

According to Ben Wood, head of research at British consultancy CCS Insight, the fact that two prominent companies had filed complaints would likely mean the ITC would seek to deal with the matter on an urgent basis.