Thursday, December 16, 2010, 09:55 am

Nokia expands legal battle with Apple, files new lawsuits in Europe

By Sam Oliver

Nokia announced on Thursday that it has filed new patent infringement claims against Apple in courts in the U.K., Germany, and the Netherlands.

The latest filings are just another addition to the numerous legal battles both Apple and Nokia have filed against each other. Each has accused the other of violating patents related to mobile phones and multi-touch devices.

"The Nokia inventions protected by these patents include... a wiping gesture on a touch screen to navigate content, or enabling access to constantly changing services with an on-device app store, both filed more than ten years before the launch of the iPhone," said Paul Melin, vice president of intellectual property with Nokia.

In November it was revealed that Apple is bolstering its legal team in response to a plethora of lawsuits it is involved in with other companies, including Nokia, HTC and Motorola.

In its fight with Nokia, Apple has argued that the Finnish handset maker has infringed on 13 patents related to a variety of technologies, including graphical user interface and booting of a handset. In return, Nokia has accused Apple of 10 patent violations.

Apple also expanded its complaints against Nokia to the United Kingdom in September. The first shot in the legal battle between the two companies fired by Nokia last October, when it accused Apple's iPhone of violating patents related to GSM and wireless LAN technology.

Apple then responded to Nokia with its own lawsuit, accusing the Finnish company of infringing on iPhone-related patents.

The battle of the two smartphone giants is expected to drag out for years, with both companies looking for a court hearing to be held in 2012. The U.S. International Trade Commission -- the group with which the complaints were filed -- has agreed to look into both Nokia's and Apple's complaints against the other.