Nokia says door is open for Daimler talks as Commission seeks answers
The European Commission has sought information from German carmaker Daimler and its supplier Continental on the lack of a breakthrough in patent talks with Nokia.
EU competition regulators are currently investigating complaints brought by the auto companies over the royalties Nokia is demanding for key telecoms patents. Daimler claims that Nokia is abusing its dominant market position to extract excessive fees for use of its IP.
The companies have been engaged in parallel mediation talks with Nokia in a bid to find a settlement that will allow them to use the patented technologies in cars.
Daimler agreed to enter mediation in December after Nokia suspended its litigation against the companies for allegedly infringing the IP.
But the first round of negotiations ended without a deal, and it is not yet clear when or if the parties will return to the table.
The Commission now wants information from Daimler and Continental on why a deal has not been reached.
In a statement, a Nokia spokesperson told WIPR that it had explained to regulators “why the allegations are without merit and the difficulties in getting the complainants to seriously engage in negotiations”.
“We have made several fair settlement offers to both Daimler and its tier-1 suppliers but unfortunately those offers have been rejected,” the spokesperson said.
Nokia said that its door “remains open for constructive dialogue with all parties”.
The Finnish company has established itself as a leader in patents which are essential to modern telecoms standards, at a time when dominance of the field is increasingly moving to China and companies such as Huawei.
Last week, Nokia said that it declared more than 3,000 standard-essential patents for 5G, the newest wave of cellular communication tech.
The announcement marked out Nokia as among the market leaders in the provision of IP underpinning 5G.
But its position could be undermined if it is found to be charging excessively high royalty fees for the patents, as the likes of Daimler and Continental have claimed.
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