Nokia Beats Apple In Patent Dispute
14.06.11
Apple has settled a patent dispute with Nokia that has been rattling through the courts since 2009. The struggling Finnish mobile giant sued Apple, claiming that it had infringed on ten patents, and then added another 36 to the mix in the following years. These patents covered everything from touchscreen scrolling to Wi-Fi to “multitasking operating systems, data synchronization, positioning, call quality and the use of Bluetooth accessories.”
Apple of course counter-sued, but it appears that it wasn’t in as strong a position as it would have liked and was finally forced to back down. Both companies have now settled all legal action against each other.
The terms of the deal are a secret, but we know that Apple will first pay a cash settlement and then an ongoing license fee to Nokia. If the troubled Nokia’s business continues to go downhill, this could become quite a significant source of income.
In fact, Nokia CEO Steven Elop hinted that patent-trolling might be big business in the future. “We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees,” he said in a statement, continuing that it “enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile-communications market.” If that doesn’t signal patent-trolling, I don’t know what does.
Source: Wired News