Apple has pulled all Withings products from its stores over a patent infringement dispute with Nokia. In April, Nokia bought Withings, which makes Wi-Fi scales and other digital health and fitness gear, for $190 million.
Several Withings iOS-compatible products — mostly health-related connected accessories — have been available at Apple Stores for nearly two years as part of a retail alliance.
In 2011, the two companies settled a patent fight over smartphone technology through a licensing agreement that committed Apple to make a one-time payment to the company and to pay regular royalties in the future,
Five years after Apple and Nokia settled a lawsuit, the tech giants have again locked horns over patents with Apple filing an anti-trust lawsuit against third-party companies Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs) that act on Nokia’s behalf, and the Finland-based firm suing Apple directly earlier this week. Nokia filed a suit in Germany and the US, claiming Apple is still infringing on Nokia patents.
On Wednesday, Nokia filed suit against Apple in Germany and the U.S., accusing the iPhone maker of violating 32 patents acquired in portfolio purchases in 2013 and 2016. Apple fired back with its own lawsuit against nine patent holdings firms and Nokia itself, claiming the NPEs are working with Nokia to “extract and extort exorbitant revenues” from Apple and other manufacturers.
