Apple brings Nokia patent battle to UK courts

Apple has sued Nokia in the UK over nine patents, in a continuation of the legal battle that has raged between the two companies in the US over the last year.

According to a statement from Nokia on Wednesday, "Apple's action is an unsurprising development, which seems designed to put pressure on the ongoing dialogue between both companies". It is not yet clear which patents are the subject of the suit.

Nokia was the first aggressor in the legal war, having sued Apple over the iPhone manufacturer's use of GSM, 3G and Wi-Fi patents in October 2009. Apple struck back with a countersuit in December 2009. In March 2010, a Delaware court put both lawsuits on hold to give the US International Trade Commission time to issue its own deliberation on the matter. Then, in May, Nokia expanded its original suit to include the iPad as well as the iPhone.

According to a Nokia spokesperson, Apple's UK suit "changes nothing in the fundamentals of the matter, which are rooted in Apple's refusal to respect Nokia's intellectual property and attempt to free ride on the back of Nokia's innovation".

"We are examining Apple's claims, which appear to be based on nine implementation patents already in suit between the two companies in the US," Nokia said. "Though litigation is always a last resort for Nokia, the company will continue to defend itself to the utmost."

Apple had not responded to a request for comment at the time of writing.