Nokia, Apple Settle Patent Litigation
WSJ reported that, Nokia Corp. said Tuesday it has agreed to settle all patent litigation with Apple Inc., in a deal that will give a much-needed boost to the company after a string of bad news as it struggles to compete with its U.S. rival.Nokia, the world's largest cellphone maker, will receive an undisclosed one-off payment from Apple and continuing royalties. Also the settlement, which ends a long-running patent dispute, "is expected to have a positive financial impact on Nokia's recently revised outlook for the second quarter 2011 of around break-even non-IFRS operating margin," for devices and services, the company said.
The settlement is a welcome piece of good news for Nokia, whose profit warning last month was followed by a succession of ratings downgrades, as the company conceded that it is losing market share in the highly competitive smartphone market. Its Symbian operating platform is struggling to compete with Apple's iPhone and the ever-increasing range of devices using Google Inc.'s Android platform, and although the company has partnered with Microsoft Corp. to use its Windows Phone software, it won't likely launch the first phone based on that platform until the fourth quarter.
Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop said the deal "enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market."
"We're glad to put this behind us and get back to focusing on our respective businesses," Apple Europe spokesman Alan Hely said. "Apple and Nokia have agreed to drop all of our current lawsuits and enter into a license covering some of each others' patents, but not the majority of the innovations that make the iPhone unique."
Read full story here...
2 Creative Comments are Rare Specious. Try One::
Nokia though facing stiff competition in the mobile communication industry none can underestimate this Finnish giant in terms of its achievement in patronizing its portfolio of intellectual assets. It is a firm’s right to generate revenue from licensing. Apple coming to settlement with the leading wireless handset manufacturer is fair enough as the iphones use 10 patents or so in its making and using. Thus, Nokia can now stabilize in the share market and concentrate on its niche more effectively.
A patent is referred to a set of rights granted to an individual or business by the state that gives them public disclosure of a new invention for a specific amount of time. This grant does not actually give the holder the exclusive right to practice the invention, but simply the right to preclude other outside parties from using or imitating it. Patent Litigation is a controversy or disagreement between two independent parties regarding a dispute of intellectual or physical property.
Post a Comment