Nokia inks new 5G patent licence deal with Apple
Long-term agreement replaces current deal set to expire in six months | Terms were reached “amicably” without need for litigation.
Nokia has signed an “amicable” patent licence agreement with Apple, which will replace the current deal between the tech giants that is due to expire at the end of the year.
The Finnish telecoms multinational announced the development on Friday, June 30,
While the details remain confidential, the cross-licence agreement is said to be long-term and will cover Nokia’s inventions in 5G and other technologies. The firm said it is consistent with the long-term outlook disclosed in its first-quarter financial report issued on April 20 this year.
Nokia said that it expects to start receiving payments from the new agreement in January 2024. The previous deal between the firms was announced in May 2017.
The company’s IP rights licensing business brought in €1.2 billion of operating profit in 2022 and is key to its growth strategy, president of Nokia Technologies Jenni Lukander stressed in September of that year.
Its patent portfolio consists of around 20,000 patent families, of which more than 5,500 have been declared essential to 5G. Companies can take out a licence and use the firm’s inventions on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.
Commenting on the deal, Lukander said: “We are delighted to have concluded a long-term patent licence agreement with Apple on an amicable basis. The agreement reflects the strength of Nokia’s patent portfolio, decades-long investments in R&D, and contributions to cellular standards and other technologies.”
Licensing agreements and fall-outs
Nokia’s patent partnership with Apple follows a cross-licensing agreement with Samsung, announced in January this year, which also covers 5G functionality.
That deal came into force on the first day of this year. Nokia and Samsung have a separate agreement over video compression technology.
Elsewhere, Nokia is still defending its patent portfolio in a years-long dispute with Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo. In January, a UK court ruled that Oppo had infringed one of Nokia’s standard-essential patents in its mobile phones, in the first of three SEP trials between the firms in the UK.
In May this year, Florian Mueller of Foss Patents reported that Oppo had invalidated two Nokia patents through the European Patent Office, but that neither decision was final and could be appealed.
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