Last year Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), won a lawsuit against Samsung and was awarded damages of 1.05 billion dollars, but the judge who presided over the case refused to ban the sale of more than 20 Samsung products, asking Apple to prove that the technologies infringed by the Koreans are part of the important functions that motivates customers to buy those terminals. Apple appealed the decision, and now is helped by Nokia to support their claims, the Finns introducing a motion in which they argue that the judge's claims are too high, they are very difficult to achieve, and a possible ban against any products becomes impossible to achieve.
The company argues for patent laws as a means of developing technology for public benefit, but also supports permanent injunctions against infringing products "in appropriate circumstances." It asserts that Judge Koh's requirement for a "causal nexus" would cause "wide-ranging damage to the United States patent protection landscape," adding that the ruling makes the standard for getting an injunction so hard to reach that "it may rarely, if ever be met." Nokia argues that this would create a compulsory licensing system, hurting incentives to innovate.
Nokia is the first company to take the side of Apple in a lawsuit against another company that is accused of infringing some patents and this is a sign that somewhere something has to change. Of course, Nokia has its own reasons on the basis of which it supports those from Apple, but until now the two companies have not interacted much, except for the licensing agreement concluded almost 2 years ago. It is unlikely that the motion from Nokia will have any effect, but if there will be similar ones, then the decisions of the US courts could change.
