Nokia has signed a patent cross-licensing agreement with Chinese smartphone maker Vivo, marking the Finnish company’s sixth major smartphone licensing deal in the past 13 months.
The deal, announced on February 5, follows similar deals with Oppo, Apple, Samsung, Honor and Huawei, and marks the telecom equipment maker’s smartphone license renewal cycle “nearly complete.” Yes, Nokia said in a statement.
Nokia said the agreement resolves all patent litigation pending between the parties in all jurisdictions. Terms and conditions will be treated as confidential as agreed between the parties. Vivo will pay royalties to Nokia and will also pay compensation to cover the dispute period.
The Vivo deal is closely watched as a follow-up to another major cross-licensing deal that Nokia signed with Chinese smartphone company Oppo at the end of January. This also related to the licensing of 5G patents and signaled the end of global patent litigation.
Matt Jones, a partner and patent expert at RPC, said both deals come in the context of patent litigation and licensing on terms deemed fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND), an emerging area of law. He emphasized the fact that it was established. Courts in China, the UK and the US, among others, have determined important global he FRAND interest rates.
Jones pointed out that Nokia’s other deals, including the deal with Honor, had no background in litigation. “Therefore, we need to ask whether, at least in some cases, the transaction is an alternative to litigation or whether it is the result of litigation,” he said.
However, he argued that it is too early to determine the burden that will be placed on courts to determine FRAND license terms in future standard-essential patent (SEP) litigation.
Commenting on Nokia’s latest agreement, Jenny Lucander, President of Nokia Technologies, said: “This is the sixth major smartphone patent license agreement we have entered into in the past 13 months, nearly completing the smartphone license renewal cycle.” This represents Nokia’s significant contribution to the development of key technologies that will provide long-term stability to our licensing business for many years to come. ”
Nokia expects to begin recognizing net revenue from this agreement in the first quarter of 2024, including a cut-off to cover the unpaid period. The company added that it is moving towards the end of the smartphone license renewal cycle. The company remains confident that annual net sales will return to between €1.4 billion and €1.5 billion in the medium term.
The ink has run dry on a spate of cross-licensing deals over the past year. In January, Philips entered into a 3G, 4G and 5G licensing agreement with Oppo, ending global litigation in multiple jurisdictions including the UK, Germany and India. In November, Huawei and Sharp signed a patent cross-licensing agreement for 4G and 5G technology.
However, new lawsuits related to SEPs involving 5G patents continue to emerge. Last December, Tesla launched a lawsuit against Avanci and Interdigital in the UK, alleging patent revocation, non-essentiality to 5G standards, and FRAND licensing decisions.
Mr Jones, who is based in London, said: “The recent favorable FRAND judgment of the High Court…of course, that situation may change depending on the outcome of the appeal in our court.”
