Apple To Fight Nokia Suit

Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone manufacturers, had last week sued Apple for infringing on patents owned by them that were used in the Apple iPhone. Claiming that Apple did not bother to license these patents, Nokia was looking at a big settlement or a hefty amount in licensing fees.

Apple was uncharacteristically silent after the suit, prompting experts to wonder if Cupertino was going to give in to the Finnish giant. However, all the speculation has been put to rest with Apple announcing their intention to contest the suit aggressively. Though no plans or mention has been made public on how Apple plans to do this, they have said they would be defending the case 'vigorously' in court. While all this was mentioned in a release to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple has still not released an official statement on how they are going to counter the Nokia claim.

With millions of iPhones already sold, a loss in this case could mean up to a billion dollar fine for Apple, which will effectively negate the spoils of the slight smartphone market share it had gained over Nokia. Speculation that the cost of iPhones might increase with a loss in the case is also making the rounds, but that should abate, if not cease altogether, with this announcement from Apple.

With all major phone manufactures releasing phones to compete with the iPhone, fighting a potential billion dollar case can only mean more headaches for Apple.