Nokia said it expects to recognize the revenue related to the latest new agreement with Apple starting in January 2024
Nokia this week announced a new patent cross-license agreement with Apple to replace the current license that is due to expire at the end of 2023. While the specifics of the agreement remain confidential between the parties, Nokia did say it covers its “fundamental inventions in 5G and other technologies.”
In 2017, the pair settled a series of lawsuits in their intellectual property disputes and agreed to a multi-year patent license. At the time, 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 in December 2016, they 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 2017 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.”
Now, Nokia expects to recognize the revenue related to the latest patent license agreement starting in January 2024, and according to Jenni Lukander, president of Nokia Technologies, the ongoing partnership “reflects the strength of Nokia’s patent portfolio, decades-long investments in R&D, and contributions to cellular standards and other technologies.”
