Nokia has won an almost two-year patent dispute with Apple Inc., in a settlement that awards a one-time payment and royalties to the Finnish handset maker.
A patent license agreement was signed by Nokia and iPhone creator Apple that would settle all litigation between the companies.
The two rivals have been in litigation since October 2009, when Nokia filed a lawsuit claiming that Apple’s iPhone infringed on 10 of its patents.
It claimed Apple was “trying to get a free ride on the back of Nokia’s innovation” pointing to supposed infringements, including the touch screen, caller ID and 3G technology, according to the Independent.
Nokia demanded royalties on the millions of Apple iPhones sold since the device's introduction in 2007.
In March, Nokia said that it has 46 patents asserted against Apple in civil lawsuits and complaints lodged with the United States International Trade Commission.
“This settlement demonstrates Nokia’s industry-leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market,” President and Chief Executive Officer of Nokia, Stephen Elop, told the Independent.
Analysts suggest that rising stars such as the iPhone and the Blackberry have taken the mobile phone industry by storm and have disrupted Nokia’s recent gains. Earlier this month, Nokia revealed sales had fallen in the second quarter, and so was forced to abandon its full-year profits.
The share price tumbled 18 percent following the news.
The Finnish corporation was founded back in 1871 – in the pre-telecommunications era and developed to become a cutting-edge global brand. Apple was founded nearly a century later in 1976, entering the technology mainstream upon release of its line of entertainment hardware of products, including the famous iPod, iPhone and iPad.
(Eman El-Shenawi, a writer at Al Arabiya English, can be reached at: eman.elshenawi@mbc.net.)
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