Nokia and Samsung recently signed an agreement, where the former will cross-license its 5G technology and patent to the latter. The deal, which went into effect at the start of the year, will see the Korean brand pay the Finnish telecommunications giant royalties, over a multi-year period.
“Samsung is a leader in the smartphone industry, and we are delighted to have reached an amicable agreement with them. The agreement gives both companies the freedom to innovate, and reflects the strength of Nokia’s patent portfolio, decades-long investments in R&D, and contributions to cellular standards and other technologies.” Jenni Lukander, President of Nokia Technologies, said.
Unfortunately, while the deal between Nokia and Samsung was announced, the two tech giants did not make public the terms of their agreement. Those details remain confidential. To date, Nokia holds you more than 20000 patent families, 4500 of which are supposedly essential families for 5G technology. It has also invested more than €130 billion (~RM605.4 billion) in R&D since 2000.
Ever since it ceased making high-end smartphones, Nokia shifted its focus and resources towards the advancement of networking gear and its intellectual property. As per the agreement, you can see that one of the Finnish giant’s major, if not a primary source of income comes from the royalties it gets from licensing out its technology.
It should also be noted that Nokia’s latest 5G patent agreement is happening amidst the latter’s ongoing legal battle with the Chinese smartphone brand, Oppo, over the extension of a FRAND license agreement. To date, the legal battle has given victories and losses to both parties in various courts; the Chinese brand recently gained ground in the Netherlands, when the District Court of the Hague published an urgent decision, where it rejected the Finnish tech giant’s request for a preliminary injunction against the sale of Oppo products in the country.
(Source: Nokia, Reuters, Bloomberg, GSMArena, Juve Patent)
