With 3/4 of a trillion dollars in their pocket, Apple did not seem to mind shelling out a couple of billions to get the company out of a legal fiasco. A patent lawsuit came between Apple and nokia back in May. However, neither one revealed any details nor left any comment regarding the value of the settlement. What was only known to most at the time was the American label had to the pay the Finnish brand a substantial fee to end the dispute.
However, recent reports have surfaced, particularly from Nokiamob regarding the amount of money that quickly cut the fight short.
According to the source, Nokia announced that it received a $2 billion cash payment from Apple. No further details on the terms of the agreement were disclosed. Considering it was a non-recurring catch-up revenue, people are left to wonder how will Nokia spend all that cash.
The lawsuit
The recent lawsuit is actually the second high-profile patent fight between Nokia and Apple. It started last year as accusations of breaking the law on dozens of patents Nokia owns including the patents from its subsidiaries, NSN and Alcatel-Lucent. Considering Nokia's background in the phone market, a lot of smartphone creators purchased the rights to the company's patents for almost everything. Apple, in particular, has been relying on Nokia's patents since the iPhone 3GS.
These include video coding, display, chipsets, UI, software, and antenna.
Apple and Nokia have been involved in a licensing deal since 2011, but the former accused the latter of seeking unfair terms, which led to their refusal to sign a new deal. The dispute got uglier when Apple resisted against the patent entities with an antitrust suit on behalf of Nokia.
This came right after Nokia filed suit in multiple countries asking for more settlement and royalty money.
Settling differences
As mentioned, Nokia and Apple put an end to the legal dispute by signing a multi-year patent agreement in May 2017. The settlement also came with new licensing terms and an agreement to do a joint effort in exploring future collaborations centered on Digital Health initiatives.
Sources say that they will work together on advanced technologies as well as research and development. More specifically, Apple will be employing Nokia for digital health, an optical network, and IP routing. The decision to go beyond a simple cash payment settlement earns the approval of many technologies and innovation experts and advocates. Signing a usual patent licensing deal is already a good thing on its own, but to further work together to improve technology is a much greater deal altogether.
