Apple and Nokia are fighting about patents again

Apple and Nokia settled a patent lawsuit back in 2011, but now, they’re back at it again. This time, Apple is filing an antitrust lawsuit, not against Nokia but instead against third-party companies known as patent assertion entities, or PAEs, that are acting on its behalf. In retaliation for this lawsuit, Nokia is suing Apple directly.

In its lawsuit, Apple argues that Nokia already has agreements to license its patents for fair and reasonable terms, aka FRAND. But Nokia is transferring these patents to PAEs in order to aggressively pursue money. This, Apple says, shouldn’t be allowed because it’s “anticompetitive and abusive” to Apple and other technology companies. Nokia is separately suing because it believes Apple owes it money for patents used in Apple products.

The two companies last had a licensing spat in 2009, when Nokia sued Apple over claims that Apple infringed on some of its essential patents. These standard essential patents are used across the industry and as such, are supposed to be licensed on FRAND terms. This means companies can take advantage of these patents without paying outrageous licensing fees because they’re essential to most products.