Nokia Wins First Round In Fight With AppleNokia Wins First Round In Fight With Apple

In October 2009, Nokia sued Apple and accused the iPhone maker of violating 10 of Nokia's smartphone patents. Apple retaliated with a lawsuit of its own in December 2009.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) agreed to weigh both sides of the issue and is favoring Nokia's arguments for the moment.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the ITC investigative staff has determined that the evidence in hand shows that Nokia didn't violate any of Apple's smartphone patents.

Worse for Apple, the ITC investigators believe that some of Apple's patents are invalid -- meaning they can't be used to collect lawsuit money. The ITC doesn't believe the remaining patents apply to Apple's case against Nokia.

The first round may have gone to Nokia, but the battle is far from over. A judge still needs to issue a final ruling on the matter. That's not going to take place until February 2011. The judge is not obligated to follow the recommendation of the investigative staff, either. He or she could still side with Apple. If he or she does, then Nokia might be barred from shipping certain phones into the U.S.

The ITC will look at Nokia's case against Apple starting November 29. It's not clear when that trial might conclude, nor when a ruling might be scheduled. If Nokia wins, Apple could be barred from shipping iPhones into Europe.

Apple is also embroiled with patent-related lawsuits against Motorola, HTC and RIM. All of the firms involved claim intellectual property rights of certain user interface, technology and touch-related features found on many modern smartphones.

Some companies are seeking damages, while others are looking for importing bans. With the smartphone industry truly taking off -- nearly 30% of Americans now own a smartphone -- profits and marketshare are at stake. And the stakes are huge.