Hot off of the wire, Nokia and HTC have set aside their differences. All past and current patent litigation issues between the two companies have been dropped. Nokia and HTC have just entered into a patent and technology collaboration agreement.
Details below.
Over the past year we’ve seen countless stories of the court struggles between Nokia and HTC. More recently we’ve seen analysts suggest that Nokia would most likely prevail over HTC in patent disputes, specifically the ones over USB transfers. Nokia has also won most court battles against HTC. For example this past December a German court sided with Nokia over devices connecting over NFC and Bluetooth to transfer resource information.
Here’s the full press release from the Nokia:
HTC AND NOKIA SIGNED A PATENT AND TECHNOLOGY COLLABORATION AGREEMENT
All patent litigation between the companies dismissed
Espoo, Finland - Nokia and HTC have settled all pending patent litigation between them, and entered into a patent and technology collaboration agreement. HTC will make payments to Nokia and the collaboration will involve HTC's LTE patent portfolio, further strengthening Nokia's licensing offering. The companies will also explore future technology collaboration opportunities. The full terms of the agreement are confidential.
"We are very pleased to have reached a settlement and collaboration agreement with HTC, which is a long standing licensee for Nokia's standards essential patents," said Paul Melin, chief intellectual property officer at Nokia. "This agreement validates Nokia's implementation patents and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities."
"Nokia has one of the most preeminent patent portfolios in the industry," said Grace Lei, General Counsel of HTC. "As an industry pioneer in smartphones with a strong patent portfolio, HTC is pleased to come to this agreement, which will enable us to stay focused on innovation for consumers."
About Nokia - Nokia is a global leader in mobile communications whose products have become an integral part of the lives of people around the world. Every day, more than 1.3 billion people use their Nokia to capture and share experiences, access information, find their way or simply to speak to one another. Nokia's technological and design innovations have made its brand one of the most recognized in the world. For more information, visit http://www.nokia.com/about-nokia.
Source: Nokia
