ESPOO, Finland – Various rumours have been circulating regarding the Russian blogger Eldar Murtazin. This is to clarify the current situation. Nokia takes all matters relating to the security of its products, confidential and proprietary information and intellectual property very seriously. Mr. Murtazin has been very public about his possession of unauthorised Nokia property. Several weeks back, we formally requested the return of all unauthorized Nokia property from Mr. Murtazin and he declined to respond. As a result, we have contacted the Russian authorities to assist us in the return of all unauthorised Nokia property.

With regard to the idea that this action is in any way related to Mr. Murtazin’s recent criticisms of the company, we have to emphasise that Nokia takes all matters relating to the security of its products, confidential and proprietary information and intellectual property very seriously. We have asked Mr. Murtazin for the return of all Nokia property in his possession. As he has declined to reply, we asked the Russian authorities to assist us. To be clear, we have no issue with individuals voicing their opinions about our company and our products. At Nokia, we pride ourselves on being an open and transparent company. However, the protection of our intellectual property is something we take very seriously.

To be perfectly clear, we are defending our intellectual property by asking for the return of all unauthorised property in Mr. Murtazin’s possession.

This is not about attacking bloggers or people who give critical reviews of our products. So as we don’t confuse the issue, while this individual does operate a blog, he is also very public about being a ‘consultant’ to other international mobile manufacturers. He has confirmed he is in possession of unauthorised Nokia prototypes and other intellectual property, and we have asked for their return. Whether Mr. Murtazin’s actions were as a blogger, or whether he is acting in the capacity of a consultant in order to provide information to his clients is an open question.

We’re not able to comment on what would or would not happen if the unauthorised property were returned. It would be inappropriate to speculate on future actions at this stage. However, you can be sure that we are prepared to take all appropriate and legal measures to protect our intellectual property. We believe every individual or organization has the right to protect itself.

There have been reports that Nokia has requested the shutting down of Mobile-Review.com. This is not the case. To be perfectly clear, we have asked Mr. Murtazin for the return of all Nokia property in his possession. As he has declined to reply, we asked the Russian authorities to assist us. We leave it to the Russian authorities to determine the most appropriate course of action.