It has been one of the longest disputes in the technology industry, but now Nokia and Apple have finally come to terms on a technology licensing agreement.
The issues date back to 2009 when Nokia sued Apple for patent infringements and extended the action in December last year. Apple meanwhile, countersued accusing Nokia of infringing its patents.
One off
Among Nokia’s claims were that Apple had made patent infringements on touch interfaces, caller ID, display illumination and both Wi-Fi and 3G technology.
Now Nokia claims that Apple has agreed a one-off payment as well as ongoing royalties to use its technologies, with Apple stating that the deal covered both companies’ patents. It means the two firms have dropped all current lawsuits and will enter into a licence covering some of each other’s patents. Both sides had always denied each other’s claims.
Mikael Rautanen, of the research group Inderes in Helsinki, believes it is the “first positive news for Nokia for a long time” and that the dispute had been settled in its advantage. Nokia had already predicted its sales and profit margins for the current quarter will be well below previous forecasts.
Savings on both sides
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