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Legal
Apple and Nokia settle patent lawsuits
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 15 June 2011
Various patent disputes between Apple and Nokia have been resolved, and as a result the one time king of the mobile phone sector will earn a royalty on every iPhone sold. Which will be useful. For them. What with no one buying Nokia phones any more.
Nokia originally accused Apple of infringing its patents with the iPhone back in 2009. Apple counter-sued, and various allegations were subsequently thrown around by the two rivals. But yesterday it was announced a settlement had been reached, and Apple will now pay Nokia a one-off sum and a royalty on all subsequent iPhone sales. Although the exact terms of the deal are not known, Nokia says it will have a positive impact on its second quarter financial results.
Patent disputes in the mobile domain have been more frequent than usual of late as newer entrants to the business have stolen considerable market share from the traditional dominant players in the mobile handset sector, Nokia being one of the biggest losers as a result of successes scored by smartphone makers like Apple and Blackberry owners RIM, and as a result of the rise of the Android mobile operating system.
Confirming Nokia had settled all its patent disputes with Apple, the company’s boss man Stephen Elop told reporters yesterday: “We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees. This settlement demonstrates Nokia’s industry leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market”.
