Nokia might have started a trend that, in the long run, won't do it any favours. It filed a suit against Apple for infringement of its hardware patents, which Apple then bounced back with a counter suit, and a game of legal tennis began.

Now the state-owned South Korean telecommunications research institute has thrown its hat into the ring and sued Nokia, Motorola, and around 20 other handset manufacturers over patent violations.

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) claims ownership of a variety of third generation international mobile standards, and is looking to reclaim around $260 million from the electronics manufacturing industry.

According to Korean news source Yon Hap News, two companies have already paid up.