Nokia files a patent suit against Apple, claiming iPhone is getting 'a free ride'

Nokia, the Finnish cell-phone giant, filed a lawsuit against Apple on Thursday, claiming that Steve Jobs & Co. haven't paid up for technology used in Apple's hugely successful iPhone. Filed in Federal District Court in Delaware, the suit involves patents for technologies including GSM, UMTS and wireless LAN (WLAN) -- all standards used in wireless phones. Nokia licenses these technologies to other companies but claims that Apple has never paid for the right to use them.

"By refusing to agree to appropriate terms for Nokia's intellectual property, Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia's innovation," Ilkka Rahnasto, Nokia vice president for legal and intellectual property, said in a statement.