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Valentine’s Day isn’t until next week, but it looks like Nokia and HTC couldn’t wait that long. The two tech titans have decided to end their patent dispute and make friends. Not only have they decided to put all the fussin’ and fightin’ behind them, they’ve also agreed to licence each other’s technology, and to explore further opportunities to collaborate in future.
Which I think is lovely, in a world where billion dollar court battles aren’t uncommon.
“Nokia and HTC have settled all pending patent litigation between them, and entered into a patent and technology collaboration agreement,” Nokia announced on its website.
“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 collaboration opportunities.”
The full terms of the agreement are confidential, as is usually the case.
Nokia and HTC were locked in a court battle since before Christmas. Nokia was trying to ban HTC’s handsets because it used chips that — it was alleged — infringed Nokia’s patents. Nokia succeeded in banning some handsets, including the HTC One, HTC One Mini, and HTC One Max. But not for long.
Both companies issued statements on the decision to put the legal disputes behind them.
Paul Melin, chief intellectual property officer at Nokia, said: “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. This agreement validates Nokia’s implementation patents and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities.”
Grace Lei, general counsel of HTC, said: “Nokia has one of the most preeminent patent portfolios in the industry. As an industry pioneer in smart phones with a strong patent portfolio, HTC is pleased to come to this agreement, which will enable us to stay focussed on innovation for consumers.”
Is this good news for us phone fans? Should more companies try and work together, rather than attempting to ban each other’s devices? Let me know in the comments, or over on our Facebook page.
