A Finnish inventor has sued Nokia for patent infringement of an integral hands-free function component. The Finnish inventor Jari Lahtinen invented a remote control function for mobile phones. This invention received a patent in the late 2003 from the National Board of Patents and Registrations of Finland.

Mr. Lahtinen is now seeking a rightful compensation from Nokia for violating the patent according to Antti Kosunen, CEO of Anadeus, a company that specialises in aiding patent holders in disputes. The exact amount of compensation demand could rise to millions of euros or even considerably higher, depending of Nokia's sales volumes related to the patent.

This is one of the first cases in which Nokia has been sued in court in its home country for patent infringement. "Inventors are often private citizens with limited resources to fight an infringement battle against a giant company like Nokia. Anadeus has been established to help such inventors by, among other things, financing the processes and providing expert advice. This case is likely to attract more inventors to fight for rightful compensation in justifiable cases," says Mr. Kosunen.