Apple, Nokia patent deal settles intellectual property dispute
Apple and Nokia have settled all lawsuits in their intellectual property disputes and agreed to a multi-year patent license.
Most of the details were kept confidential, but the companies said that deal involved an undisclosed up-front cash payment from Apple as well as additional revenue during the multi-year term of the agreement. Nokia and Apple have had a licensing arrangement in place since 2011, but last December the two companies got into a legal battle over which patents Apple was actually using versus which ones were covered under their agreement.
Maria Varsellona, chief legal officer at Nokia, called the new deal “a meaningful agreement between Nokia and Apple. It moves our relationship with Apple from being adversaries in court to business partners working for the benefit of our customers.”
Under the new agreement between the companies, Nokia will provide network infrastructure product and services to Apple, while Apple will go back to carrying Nokia’s digital health-related products online and in Apple stores. The two companies are also looking at collaborating on more digital health initiatives.
“Regular summits between top Nokia and Apple executives will ensure that the relationship works effectively and to the benefit of both parties and their customers,” the two companies said.
Apple has taken the tack of settling far-ranging lawsuits with major deals before. In 2015, the company signed a seven-year deal with Ericsson that resolved an international investigation and four lawsuits revolving around Apple’s use of Ericsson technology in its iPhones.
Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, said that the company is “pleased with this resolution of our dispute, and we look forward to expanding our business relationship with Nokia.”
