RIM headache number 4,572 (or thereabouts): Nokia is suing for patent infringement

Despite the fact that Nokia and Research in Motion have each seen their smartphone profits eviscerated by Apple and Google, there’s no sign of an underdog alliance. In fact, Nokia just filed several lawsuits against RIM (as well as HTC and ViewSonic), saying the companies infringed on up to 45 of its patents for features like dual-function antennas, multimode radios, conversational message display and data encryption. It’s yet another legal hassle for RIM, which is already dealing with one patent lawsuit over swiping and double tapping technology and another for design and data transmission patents. And though tech companies spend a lot of time suing each other over patents, Nokia has already proven its courtroom chops, having won a patent dispute against Apple. Given RIM’s tumbling stock price following its BB10 preview, the last thing the company needs now is a pricey day in court. [Reuters]