The patents relate to technologies necessary to make devices compatible with one or more of the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), and wireless local area network (WLAN) standards. The patents cover wireless data , speech coding, security and encryption and Nokia said they are infringed by all iPhones.

Observers are questioning why Nokia waited so long after the iPhone was first introduced in 2007 before filing the lawsuit. Observers believe Nokia may have not seen Apple as a threat until its own sales of smartphones declined.

Nokia reported a $1.36 billion loss in its latest quarter even as competitors enjoyed soaring smartphone sales.

Rights, Not Sales

While some observers believe Nokia's weak portfolio is forcing the company to file unnecessary lawsuits, others say that isn't the case.

"It's not a desperate move," said Ramon Llamas, an IDC analyst. "Nokia senses that Apple infringed on its IPR (intellectual-property rights) and is pursuing legal action."

"I really do not think that this has anything to do with trying to stop iPhone sales because Nokia's high-end portfolio is weak right now," said Gartner Research Director Carolina Milanesi. "It has everything to do with the fact that Nokia does make money from IPR and this helps their revenue bottom line."

For the past two decades, Nokia said it has invested nearly 40 billion Euros (US$60 billion) in research and development and has built a broad intellectual-property portfolio with more than 10,000 patent families.

Making Its Case

In its court filing, Nokia said it has made several price offers on a per-patent and portfolio basis, but Apple declined, Reuters reported.

Analysts don't expect the lawsuit to affect iPhone sales because Nokia hasn't asked for a cease-and desist-order. Apple has sold about 34 million iPhones, so if Nokia wins its case, Apple may have to pay anywhere from $200 million to $1 billion, analysts are predicting.

"Nokia has been in similar situations, as has Apple, so right now I'm expecting to see if they can first settle out of court before going to full trial," Llamas said.

Milanesi is also predicting that these issues will not end with Nokia and Apple. "I wonder how long it will be before we see issues such as this one with other newcomers that have not been in the mobile space for as long and therefore have not contributed to the technologies or shared patents with players such as Nokia," she said.