
Apple Countersues Nokia - fiaz
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2009/12/11countersue.html
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illumen
This is a really strange press release from Apple... to me it makes Apple
sound bad.

First they make the Nokia quote stand out as the most, over their other
points. Then Apple uses the word 'reinvent' in the first line of the third
paragraph. This is exactly what Nokia are claiming they've done. Let us look
at all the things they've reinvented:

* osx, unix clone.

* ipod, mp3 player clone.

* itunes, winamp clone.

* iphone, smart phone clone.

* ilife programs, each are a clone of many existing programs (movie editor, photo editor, sound editor, web page maker etc).

They do a lot of credit claiming for things they didn't invent. If you just
listened to Apple PR, you'd expect they invented all of those things. It is
really strange that they are proving what Nokia has said about them in their
own press release!

~~~
jws
The third paragraph is boiler plate applied to all press releases. Granted, in
this case it is longer than the press release.

The actual press release, the first two sentences, is almost certainly crafted
to match the Nokia press quotes from their suit:

 _"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, Nokia's Vice President of legal and intellectual property, in a
statement. "Apple is also expected to follow this principle. By refusing to
agree [upon] appropriate terms for Nokia's intellectual property, Apple is
attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia's innovation."_

Assuming each side can make a few patents stick then they are probably headed
for a cross licensing deal.

~~~
roc
Actually, I think a cross-licensing deal is precisely what Apple is trying to
avoid.

There's no discernible reason for Apple to have not licensed Nokia's patents
in the beginning, given what other licensees pay. So it seems likely that
Nokia was looking for terms above and beyond what they ask from other
licensees.

Which, in this case, would almost certainly have included licenses to use some
Apple-patented technologies.

~~~
jws
Having seen further Apple statements today I agree with you. Nokia is looking
for a way in to the Apple patents.

------
chanux
“Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not
just by stealing ours,” said Bruce Sewell, Apple’s General Counsel and senior
vice president.

And his boss once said

"Good artists copy. Great artists steal"

~~~
csbrooks
Did he steal that quote from Picasso?

~~~
sroerick
Who clearly stole it himself.

------
yason
I don't know what the Nokia's patents are but what I know is that about the
time a company begins to sue other companies means they've fallen behind on
the market. And this has indeed been true for Nokia for some time.

Had Gandhi lived in the late 20th centry, his quote would probably be: "First
they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they sue you. Then you win."

~~~
yumraj
So according to your logic Apple sued Psystar because Apple was falling behind
in the market. I don't think so..

Companies sue when they think that they have to defend their IP. (I'm not
talking about patent trolls, I'm talking about genuine companies with real
IP).

------
yumraj
It looks like Apple's patent's are primarily UI/software related, which in the
worst case are relatively easy to workaround.

Nokia's patent's on the other hand are related to wireless technology which
are not easily workaround-able, so IMO if this goes towards settlement/cross-
licensing Nokia has a much stronger hand.

