Uh oh. Google is still smarting from Apple’s ban on the Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Nexus in the US, and now its Nexus 7 tablet has come under fire from Nokia.

The Finnish phone firm says Google’s new Jelly Bean-running tablet infringes its patents, so a fresh ban could be on the cards.

Though it hasn’t specified which patents it thinks the Nexus 7 has infringed, a Nokia spokesperson told The Inquirer: “Nokia has more than 40 licensees, mainly for its standards essential patent portfolio, including most of the mobile device manufacturers.

“Neither Google nor Asus is licensed under our patent portfolio. Companies who are not yet licensed under our standard essential patents should simply approach us and sign up for a license.”

Them’s not exactly fighting words, more a call to play by the rules.

Google Nexus 7 revealed

It’s thought the patent that has Nokia riled relates to the 808.11 Wi-Fi technology. The Nexus 7 is Wi-Fi-only, with no 3G.

Nokia hasn’t proven the Nexus 7 infringes any of its patents, but it sounds pretty sure of itself. It could try to impose a ban on Google’s tablet, but seeing as it doesn’t have a rival model, that would seem like sour grapes. Then again, if it did seek a ban, that would be all the confirmation we need that Nokia is working on its own tablet.

Asus and Google are yet to comment.

Source: SlashGear

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  • Captain Nutkick

    Dang… is this just for the US? At the very least I hope it still goes on sale in the UK, I was relying on this in case my galaxy tab ever gives up. For the price, the specs are awesome.

  • http://twitter.com/PCSievers P.C. Sievers

    It is jumping the gun to rhetorically ask if a ban is on the cards. In fact Nokia would hate to have it banned because they profit by each sale if they can prove their case.

    Note the language of “Google and ASUS arent licensed” despite both making similar devices for several years. It seems to be a money grab and Nokia will back off quickly if Google or ASUS (backed by Google) say bring it on and lets go to court. Google owns a huge patent portfolio in their Motorola Mobility purchase and ASUS’s portfolio isnt a slouch either. It is also possible that the license is paid by their chipset supplier too.

    If it comes down to it and Nokia does have a case then either Google cuts them a cheque or they meet them in court as overpriced lawyers do battle with overpriced lawyers over the meaning of the word “of” and “there” but with Nokia having pretty big problems if they really do have a case then they will push for settlement with cents on the dollar. They just plain dont have the capital to tie up in a lengthy court battle against a device they dont have a competitor for. That is why they started out asking for money and not starting out by filing suit.

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