When you can't compete in the marketplace for legitimate reasons, the lawsuits usually follow. What do we mean by this?

All too often in this high tech world we see a large incumbent that failed to see the direction a market was heading, or failed to ask itself: "Are we really innovating, or just producing the same old stuff?"

Once they start losing market share and it looks as if their business is about to collapse, they start grasping at straws... fighting tooth and nail not via the legitimate business channels, but in seedy courtrooms.  This seems to be the route that Nokia is going with it's lawsuits against Apple for patent infringement.

If I were a Nokia shareholder, I would take this as a sign that Nokia has all but given up competing with Apple and have admitted defeat and gone for their last straw.

You can read more about the lawsuit via BBC here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8321058.stm

What are your thoughts?