In Lawsuit, Nokia Says iPhone Infringes Its Patents

BERLIN — Nokia, the world’s biggest cellphone maker, sued Apple on Thursday, claiming that Apple illegally used 10 of its patented technologies to make the iPhone, its innovative touch-screen smartphone.

Nokia said it had filed a patent infringement suit in United States District Court in Delaware. The complaint claims Apple, based in Cupertino, Calif., illegally used Nokia’s patents for wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption to make its iPhone work on GSM, UMTS and WiFi wireless networks.

Nokia is an original contributor to the GSM wireless technology standard that was developed in Europe. Most cellphones run on GSM or UMTS networks. The iPhone, introduced in 2007, runs on a GSM network in the United States and GSM and UMTS networks in Europe and Asia.

Nokia said it had invested more than 40 billion euros ($60 billion) over the last 20 years to develop the technologies, which it has licensed to 40 leading mobile phone makers.

A Nokia executive said it sued Apple after failing to come to terms with Apple over a licensing agreement.

“By refusing to agree appropriate terms for Nokia’s intellectual property, Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia’s innovation,” said Ilkka Rahnasto, a vice president of legal and intellectual property at Nokia.

Nokia said Apple’s alleged patent infringement extended back to the first iPhones sold in 2007. Nokia, based in Finland, is the global leader in smart phones, and Apple’s iPhone is its biggest competitor. Last week, Nokia said its share of the global smart phone market slipped to 35 percent in the third quarter from 41 percent in the second as competitors Apple and Research In Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry, gained.

An analyst said Nokia’s suit was part of a growing trend of telecom equipment makers being more litigious. Those makers are increasingly searching for new revenue as wireless markets become saturated and sales begin to stagnate.

“Where there is a hit, there is usually a writ,” said Neil Mawston, an analyst at Strategy Analytics in London. “I think the intellectual property rights wars are ramping up in the handset industry now. This fits in fairly nicely with that trend.”

Apple officials in London and Cupertino did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the suit.