As expected, Apple just responded to
Nokia's ITC request to ban Apple device imports with a US embargo request of its very own. Notice of Apple's complaint (without any detail) was posted yesterday on the website of the International Trade Commission -- a government agency tasked with protecting the US market from unfair trade practices. As you might recall, the whole
Nokia v. Apple legal spat started with
Nokia suing Apple for infringing upon Nokia patents relating to GSM, UMTS, and WiFi; a claim later expanded to include "
implementation patents" covering a wide range of items including camera sensors and touchscreens. While the ITC hasn't agreed to investigate either Nokia's or Apple's complaints, it is customary to do so with investigations usually taking about 15 months to complete. We'll post more when the details of Apple's patent infringement complaint are revealed.
posted January 16th 2010 7:02AM
@Goona
Useless Apple, instead of licencing the technology that Nokia developed, they want to steal that technology.
When you unbanned from MacRumors BTW?
@Goona
Hah, and iphones are good phones? They might be good (albeit tied down) gadgets, but good phones? From what i gather from their users that isn't quite true there
Soon no phones will be sold in the United States of America.
@revoltracers
Not, no-phone only i and Nokia phone
@prem You're forgetting the Kodak debacle. That throws RIM into the mix.
@revoltracers Coming soon: Sony Ericsson have a huge resurgence along with Motorola.
@DAZA
Droid does.
@Average White Boy
I wonder how can you be so blind.
Sorry, I just figured out that you were living in USA.Problem solved.
@Average White Boy
Nokia phones are a major hit in Europe Asia, because the people there are lucky enough not to pay 3x premiums for phones with extra "i"s and nothing special other than that.
@revoltracers We both know that it's for the best.
@revoltracers : Funny how they are already NOT sold in US...
@revoltracers
Nokia phone that don't using apple's patents (eg. don't have camera and touchscreens) will not ban.
as same as apple's device that don't using apple's patents (eg. don't have bluetooth, wifi, 3g - include macbook, iphone, ipodtouch)
@revoltracers
I'll go with that so long as they stop selling the iPhone anywhere else in the world :).
@milkywayer I had plenty of Nokia phones before my iPhone and they were fine. In comparison to the iPhone though they are utter shite
@Average White Boy
Nokia phone = good hardware, un-usable OS
@max1c
Who wants symbian OS? dumbest "smartphone" OS EVER!
Screw Nokia, GO APPLE!
@choclat
The dumbest smartphone OS ever can't multitask... hint hint.
Besides, S60 3rd edition is the way that all non-touch phones should work. Not everyone wants or needs a touchscreen phone.
@revoltracers
How come I get this feeling that the CEOs of the various companies are just taking the piss? They probably meet up on weekends to read Engadget comments and laugh.
"Hey, hey, hahaha, Steve! We should say we want you to stop selling your phone in Europe!"
"Oh man, that would be SWEET, BOOM, I'll do the same thing to you next month! Hey Bill, s'cool if we say that Zune Pass voilates the right of unborn foetuses?"
"What?"
"Dunno, but it'll get MarkAnderson all worked up!"
@CJ Right on man. Funny as hell
@revoltracers:
Looks like it time to take stock in Campbells. Soup cans that is.
@put4558350 Apple can't claim on cameras in phones. That's prior art well established long before they even dreamt of a phone. Besides Kodak claim patent on the camera anyway against both Apple and RIM.
Touchscreen technology has existed long before Apple. The only claim they have got is on a certain kind of multi-touch gesture system. multi-touch is not found on Nokia phones. There's no infringement there.
Same goes for most of Apple's pointless patents. No, everything on the iPhone is borrowed from other companies out there and mostly without permission. Other manufacturers pay up for the patents they use, but not Apple because they are so above the law (they even refuse to put no smoking signs on their stores where legally required and just pay a fine instead!).
@archkron
Always boring reading comments from people with minimal knowledge... (yes, that´s YOU archkron) pfffff......
@tjmoore
The iPhone is a rebirth of the Newton.
@hill60 Psion Organiser. Just saying ;)
@milkywayer
Wrong....Nokia phones generally cost less than the iphone and they pack more features.
*Looks at Nokia's sales in the US*
Yeah. That'll sting.
@MarkAnderson
Agreed. How on earth will Nokia survive with their immense US marketshare /s
Apple have far more to lose. Tough shit Apple!
@MarkAnderson It is all part of the game though, if Apple didn't do this then it would show weakness to the Judge that ends up presiding the case. It was always a case of when not if they would do this.
@Mack Stone WTF?
@MarkAnderson .. it will actually. Many of the app developers are based in the US. And if they can't get a phone to develop/test on then they won't be able to do apps.
But it's all silly pretending anyway .. no judge is going to ban the iPhone and Nokia phones in the US.
@taligent
You don't need Nokia for that. There's Samsung, Sony Ericsson and TI's hardware thing that can run Symbian. Besides, there's emulator available.
@d0mth0ma5
You confuse the US court system with the inner workings of the mafia.
@Goona
Look at this goat, always defending Apple, damn idiot.
ROFL!
@Wwhat Wishful thinking on my part, they'd get the job done quicker (and cheaper).
@MarkAnderson
You know Mark?
No one said that Apple would be sending some big dagger into Nokia's heart by making this movie. Obviously no one in the US gives a shit about Nokia and it's shitty phones. We haven't cared about Nokia like in ages. They hardly have any subsidized phones over here.
This is about THE PRINCIPLE of the matter.
Nokia wants to ban the import of Apple products? Well then Apple has EVERY RIGHT to ask the same thing for Nokia products.
What's laughable is that you point out how Apple would be hurt more by a ban...what makes you think that a ban will even OCCUR?
To me this is just stinks of desperation...on Nokia's part. I mean we all read the financial reports. Nokia is losing money like it's no ones business. Meanwhile Apple is recording RECORD PROFITS.
I'll repeat that APPLE is MAKING PROFIT.
NOKIA is barely staying afloat.
So even if Apple were to lose it's not going to be a huge dent to them.
And it doesn't change the fact that the iPhone 4G will out in about 5 to 6 months and will ONCE AGAIN destroy the competition both in sales and in quality.
And that will drive you even crazier. It kills you that Apple has the spotlight and the best phone out there. With the highest customer satisfaction rating.
Meanwhile Nokia is barely a whisper around these parts...you guys keep moaning about the N900 review. GUESS WHAT? Hardly anyone has the stupid phone and it's not that great to begin with. So I doubt a review of this phone thats not being sold in the US is high on Engadgets prority list.
Go to another website. Stop trolling Engadget editors. Get a life. If you don't like Apple news then go to a website that focuses on your beloved android or nokia phones...
@Goona
How are you not banned yet? The amount of stupid in your posts is criminal. Maybe if you ask your doctor for something to make you less batshit insane then Mac Rumors will take you back.
@Goona
Dude, I'm not the one saying that Indians are only good for cheap labour. I'm going to bet that you're also homophobic (and you know what they say about the ones who protest the most, dearie!) and think it's OK to beat women too.
Incidentally, your favourite word ends with 'er' not 'a'. If you're going to try and insult me at least try not come across like a functional illiterate.
Incidentally, did Macrumors ban you for good this time or are you just in Time Out again?
@Goona
Huh, and I thought you did, since you've made 2,120 posts there since Mar 11, 2009. That's 6.82 posts per day! You're right though, you really don't care about it.
@Goona
1) You have over 2,000 posts on Mac Rumors. Yeah, you do care.
2) No you wont because you're in Time Out. Again.
@Goona
Pointing out that a country is used to manufacture products because they have cheap labour and stating that a country is only good for cheap labour are two different things.
Enough of this. You're scum. Everyone knows it and there's no point conversing with you any further.
Not that I expect you to be here much longer - Engadget are a bit less forgiving than Macrumours you'll find.
@MarkAnderson
I'm sorry that you apple haters can bear to hear the truth.
Bottom line is that Apple will not be harmed a lot by the outcome of this pissing match.
And Nokia is the one on the ropes here. NOT Apple...
@TheRogueFFAngel
You are either very stupid or 12, because if nokia lost it would be a small dent to them. Apple is a company that is much smaller than nokia.
@TheRogueFFAngel
In other words you have no idea what you're talking about.
No surprises there then.
@TheRogueFFAngel So if I make a $50 phone and subsidize $10 of it and sell it in America, I would make a killing, right?
Whateva.
@MarkAnderson Just to add some more to marks comments . nokia is ranked the 5th best global brand by buisness week , the first of the non us brands apple is all the way down in 20th. These results represent worldwide figures not just the u.s market which in your mind is the ONLY market. In Europe and asia Nokia is da bomb. I have a nokia 5800 , i love it. before that i had a 6500. now these phones got thrown around and treated like shit but kept on working. With the iphone u sit it on a table and it gets scratched = shiteness that us folks across the pond in europe dont apprecaite
@simoore2
I have two Nokia phones currently. A 5800 and an N86. The N86 is awesome but has a hardened glass front which now has a star fracture on it since I dropped after band practice on Wednesday.
As such I've gone back to the 5800 again and love it, especially since I installed the v40 firmware which gives it kinetic scrolling and the contacts shortcuts from the 5530. It's a great phone: light weight and tough and easy to use.
The thing people miss about Nokia is that they recognise they've ceded the top end of the market to Apple - and now it looks like to some of the high end Android devices plus, maybe, the HTC HD2 - but that their main focus is on mobilising the developing world which is why it's much, much more important to them to dominate the mid and low end of the smartphone market.
Of course, they're not happy about it and have no-one else to blame but themselves - the staggering lack of nous and foresight in launching the N96 - a phone actually inferior in many respect to its predecessor the N95 - and then the N97 - an ungainly brick which should have been the N97 mini (a much better phone) from day one - is breathtaking. However, it's clear that Maemo will be the high end platform going forward and, although I'm not going to buy one because it feels like a prototype, the N900 is encouraging.
So what it boils down to is this: The high end is Nokia's to win back if they can. In the meantime they make a lot of money out of the mid and low end so they can afford to wait. That's not true for Apple who, if they lose a significant part of the high end, are in pretty big trouble because they have no other cellphone market to speak of.
@TheRogueFFAngel "Nokia wants to ban the import of Apple products? Well then Apple has EVERY RIGHT to ask the same thing for Nokia products"
lol, this shows your understanding of law, your calibre and age pretty clearly in one go right there :D
@Mark Biatch Anderson
You could just not be completely insane and get yourself banned in the first place, you know.
And what the hell do you mean by Apple Hate? All he's said so far is that IF Nokia's products were banned in the US, it wouldn't really hurt them as they're such a small part of the market here. Which is true.
@MarkAnderson
I know, all this is US-centric with the ITC and all. But just for global context, open your door for a moment and let some fresh air in: In 2008, Nokia had a global market share of about 38%. The brethren in Cupertion are trailing with about 37% less. True, Nokia has the advantage of being an established player, but still... just for context.
@ekimor But Mark is just a Nokia Fanboi. Talk about major monetary losses and huge marketshare losses. 38% is huge now, but when 1 year ago it was 50% and more... heh.
Nokia's only doing well because the fanbois keep going back. Of course the users are leaving in droves too. Dude, I have AND use an N-Series. S60v3 or S60v5 is all just antiquated. It's like DOS to Windows 7. Who cares that it can multitask? Multitasking is overrated anyway. Plus, when you acn't even do Exchange mail properly on an N-series, then that's just beyond pathetic because my Pocket PC 2002 can do it.