Apple and Nokia have recently announced the signing of a multi-year patent license agreement, granting Apple access to Nokia’s extensive portfolio of patented inventions in 5G and other technological domains. The new agreement will replace their previous licensing deal, which was set to conclude by the end of 2023. Although the specific terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, Apple will be making payments to Nokia as part of the arrangement.
Nokia, renowned for its ownership of over 20,000 patents, including 5,500 patents specifically related to 5G technology, adopts a fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) approach when offering its patents for licensing. This approach ensures that companies can acquire Nokia’s technologies at a reasonable cost. However, disagreements occasionally arise concerning the interpretation of “reasonable” pricing.
The recent agreement between Apple and Nokia builds upon their previous collaboration, which originated in 2017 following a contentious legal dispute. The financial impact of this latest deal will be reflected in Nokia’s earnings for the first quarter of 2024.