Nokia and Daimler announce truce in FRAND dispute
In a win for Nokia, German automaker Daimler has agreed to pay the tech company for using its patents in the culmination of a closely watched dispute between the two companies.
The agreement announced today, June 1, confirmed that the two companies would cease litigation but Nokia and Daimler did not reveal the terms of their patent licensing deal.
In 2019, the telecoms SEP owner Nokia sued Daimler for infringing its patents and refusing to take a licence under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.
But Daimler countered that SEPs should be licensed to suppliers, rather than the manufacturers of end-products.
In a statement, Jenni Lukander, president of Nokia Technologies, said: “The settlement is a hugely significant milestone which validates the quality of our patent portfolio, the contribution of Nokia’s research and development to the connected vehicle industry, and the growth opportunities for our automotive licensing programme.”
A Daimler spokeswoman said in a separate statement: “We welcome the settlement, from an economic point of view and because we avoid lengthy ... disputes.”
Back in January Nokia scored a major victory against Daimler, after the European Patent Office (EPO) affirmed the validity of one of its patents.
Daimler had challenged the validity of Nokia’s patents at the EPO and at the German Federal Patent Court.
The patent (EP2087626), one of 10 asserted by Nokia, was part of the company’s SEP portfolio covering the 3G Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) standard.
Germany’s competition regulator, the Federal Cartel Office, had also requested that the German courts refer the controversial issue to the Court of Justice for the European Union.
However, the end of the dispute means that this request to Europe's highest court for guidance on the issue has become moot.
This week’s agreement follows Nokia’s deal with Lenovo under which the world's biggest PC maker will make a net payment to the Finnish telecoms equipment maker to resolve all pending licensing disputes
Nokia also struck an agreement with Samsung, under which the South Korean company also agreed to make royalty payments to the Finnish telecoms company.
However, Nokia will still have to fight a suit waged by Continental Automotive Systems in the US courts. In 2019 Continental sued patent pool operator Avanci, which includes Nokia, Sharp and Conversant Wireless as members at the US District Court For the District of California.
The company accuses Nokia, and other patent pool members, of violating antitrust laws when it negotiated licence agreements for SEPs with automakers, instead of the component makers.
For more on how these disputes are affecting 5G-enabled devices, read SEP owners in the driving seat.
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