In a patent drama just getting under way, Nokia has added a new twist in its case against Apple. On Tuesday, Nokia said it filed a new complaint against the iPhone maker for infringing on its patents in virtually all of Apple’s mobile phones, portable music players, and computers.

Nokia filed the new complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, an independent federal agency that, among other things, directs actions against unfair trade practices involving patent, trademark and copyright infringement. The commission has the authority to order U.S. customs officials to block goods from entering the U.S., and many Apple components are manufactured in Asia.

Nokia’s New Strategy

Nokia has one of the strongest patent portfolios in the wireless industry with more than 10,000 patent families. Nokia has invested 40 billion euros (US$57.4 billion) in research and development in the last two decades. Many of Nokia’s patents undergird industry standards and Nokia licenses its patents to about 40 companies.

The seven Nokia patents in the new complaint relate to Nokia innovations that the company alleges Apple is using to create key features in its user interfaces, as well as camera, antenna and power-management technologies. The patents also cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption, and Nokia said they are infringed by all Apple iPhone models shipped since the iPhone was introduced in 2007.

More specifically, Nokia alleges Apple infringed on intellectual property that relates to technologies fundamental to making devices compatible with one or more of the GSM, UMTS (3G WCDMA), and wireless LAN standards. Nokia argues that these patented technologies are important to Nokia’s success, as they allow better user experiences, lower manufacturing costs, smaller size, and longer battery life for Nokia products.

“Nokia has been the leading developer of many key technologies in small electronic devices,” said Paul Melin, general manager…

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