NOKIA YESTERDAY opened new fronts in Europe in its patent war with iPhone maker Apple, launching lawsuits in Germany and the Netherlands.

The 13 new complaints for using Nokia’s technology are part of an escalating battle between the two rivals in the smartphone arena that started more than a year ago when Nokia filed its first case in the United States.

Apple, which was not available for comment, has also sued Nokia over patents in the US and Britain. It remains engaged in patent rows with Motorola, HTC Corp and other mobile phone vendors using Google’s Android operating system.

Nokia’s new filings accuse Apple of breaching Nokia’s patents related to several technologies, including the touch user interface, on-device app stores, signal noise suppression and modular structure. These actions add 13 further Nokia patents to the 24 already asserted against Apple in the US. – (Reuters)