Apple has moved to begin a lawsuit against Nokia in Britain in what seems to be the next stage in a patent battle between the two companies. The two technology firms have been locking horns since October 2009 when Nokia sued Apple in the United States over patent infringement.

From an update article on the corporate tussle on Reuters,

The Finnish company said Apple owed it royalties for using Nokia technology that allows such basic mobile tasks as sending email or downloading applications.

The U.S. trade body ITC is set to decide on some of the claims between the two companies next year, while the key court hearings are scheduled for 2012 in Delaware.

The original patent suit in the United States covers claims by Nokia that Apple’s iPhone infringes upon Nokia’s patents. Apple promptly counter-sued claiming that Nokia was taking advantage of Apple by making unwarranted claims. Nokia responded by filing a motion with the ITC asserting that all of Apple’s products violate its patents. The legal battle descended to a tug-of-war over the ITC’s attention from there.

And now Apple has stretched the battlefield overseas to Britain.

Looks like the two companies are in for a fun time until the decision comes back from the ITC sometime in 2012—but these sort of proceedings can stretch on potentially for years.