Apple and Nokia unite against Samsung

Nokia has joined Apple in its bid for permanent injunctions against a number of products of the Korean giant Samsung. Thus the Finnish company becomes the only outside supporter of Apple in the suit.

Nokia filed the full brief at the U.S. Court of Appeal on Monday (the Federal Circuit in Washington is sealed now). There was a summary that accompanied the brief and in it Nokia stated that the judge made a mistake denying Apple’s request to adjudge permanent injunctions.

If you remember, Nokia and Apple were once against each other in the patent war. Nokia started a trial against Apple in 2009 – before the Cupertino-based company started suing manufacturers of Android smartphones. In 2011 the two companies reached to an agreement and Nokia received undisclosed amends.

On Monday Nokia’s attorney Keith Broyles (Alston & Bird) stated that Judge Lucy Koh made a mistake by ruling that a ‘casual nexus’ should be established by Apple Inc. In order to secure a permanent junction, the company have to establish the before mentioned nexus between the feature it has patented and the demand for iPhones.

According to Nokia, this rule represents a risk for the patent protection landscape in the United States of America. According to Keith Broyles Nokia is an important patent owner and it has been involved in a great number of patent trials in the United States, so it won’t be a surprise if it has to go in the footsteps of Apple and seek injunctions one day. The attorney added that the mobile niche is an industry of constant patent infringement and court trials resulting from that.

The amicus filling Nokia submitted was possible thanks to an extension of the deadline, which was February 19. The Federal Circuit extended it with two weeks in respond to request from Nokia. Samsung’s brief, on the other hand, is due in a couple of weeks. We shall see whether there will be amici fillings supporting the Korean company.

Source: Reuters