Nokia filed the suit in the US on Thursday, saying Apple had infringed 10 patents in technologies  accusing Apple of trying to hitch a “free ride” on Nokia’s technology investment.

Apple, has won 15 per cent share of the smartphone market, but it has limited intellectual property assets compared with rivals.

Neil Mawston at Strategy Analytics said Apple could have to pay Nokia anything between $200 million and $1 billion for patents used in 34 million iPhones shipped so far. In the last quarter alone Apple sold 7.4 million iPhones for an average sales price of $566, according to Strategy Analytics.