Why is Nokia Picking a Fight With RIM?

With Nokia‘s (NYSE:NOK) net sales down $300 million from Q2 to Q3, also decreasing year on year, it’s no wonder Nokia took the gloves off in a patent suit against BlackBerry producer Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM).

Nokia’s case is over RIM’s use of WLAN (more commonly seen as WiFi) technology, for which a Swedish arbitrator has decided RIM owes royalties to Nokia, otherwise the producer will not be allowed to sell devices that include the technology. Nokia has filed cases in the U.S., Britain, and Canada to enforce the Swedish Arbitrator’s ruling.

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With RIM’s worldwide market share in mobile device sales less than half what it was this time last year, and the new BlackBerry 10 right around the corner, the smartphone maker won’t want to see sales halted completely over this patent case. With BlackBerry currently the third most popular mobile operating system on the market, and with the new OS set to launch, RIM may have to give in to Nokia to keep from losing any more of its market footing.

Nokia only stands to gain from new royalties, but the extent to which it will gain is still up for debate. Some experts argue Nokia’s patent portfolio alone could amount to Nokia’s 2.50 Euros per share value, while others value it at 20 percent that estimate.

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