In a media statement today, Nokia announced that it has entered into a new patent license agreement with Research In Motion (RIM). The agreement will result in settlement of all existing patent litigation between the companies and withdrawal of pending actions in the US, UK and Canada related to a recent arbitration tribunal decision.
The financial structure of the agreement includes a one-time payment and on-going payments, all from RIM to Nokia. The specific terms of the agreement are confidential, according to the companies.
Nokia filed the lawsuit against RIM late last month claiming that a contract linked to technology used for the wireless local access network (WLAN) has been breached. The cross-licensing agreement which was signed with RIM in 2003 gave RIM access only to use Nokia’s standard-essential cellular patents in its Blackberry handsets.
“We are very pleased to have resolved our patent licensing issues with RIM and reached this new agreement, while maintaining Nokia’s ability to protect our unique product differentiation,” said Paul Melin, chief intellectual property officer at Nokia.
Nokia said that during the last two decades, it has invested approximately EUR 45 billion in research and development and built the wireless industry’s strongest and broadest IPR portfolio, with around 10,000 patent families.
Nokia is among the leading patent holders in the wireless industry. Patent royalties generate annual revenue of about 500 million euros ($646 million) for Nokia.
