Apple’s claims of patent-infringement against Nokia will be reviewed by the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Washington, DC-based agency announced. The commission could decide in just over a year whether imports of handsets made by the Finnish company should be banned from the United States.
The announcement comes on the heels of the ITC agreeing to investigate claims by Kodak against the Cupertino, Calif. electronics maker. In January, Kodak sued Apple, claiming the iPhone infringed its patent on previewing images.
The agency’s decision to review Apple’s complaint against Nokia is just the latest episode in a long-running legal and market battle between Apple and Nokia. Competition between the two companies has grown more intense as Nokia slowly loses market share to the increasing number of smart phones, including Apple’s iPhone.
Last month, the ITC agreed to look into Nokia’s claim that “virtually all” of Apple’s products infringed on the Espoo, Finland-based handset maker. In December, the two companies traded patent-infringement lawsuits.
The ITC has the power to investigate unfair trading in the U.S. and bar imports of offending products. The investigation is expected to take up to 15 months.
[Via Bloomberg]
