Nokia settles intellectual property dispute with Apple and agree on licence partnership

Apple and Nokia have settled all litigation related to their intellectual property dispute and signed a multi-year patent licence agreement.

Under a business collaboration agreement, Nokia will provide certain network infrastructure products and services to Apple. Apple will resume carrying Nokia digital health products (formerly under the Withings brand) in Apple retail and online stores.

The two companies will also try future collaboration in digital health initiatives.

Details of the agreement remain confidential, but it is understood that Nokia will receive an up-front cash payment from Apple, with additional revenues during the term of the agreement.

According to Nokia, the value of the agreement will be reflected partially as patent licensing net sales in Nokia Technologies and partially as net sales in other Nokia business groups. Nokia will follow its existing practices for disclosing patent licensing revenue in its quarterly announcements and expects that revenues for the agreement will start to be recognised in the second quarter of 2017.

Nokia chief legal officer Maria Varsellona said: "This is a meaningful agreement between Nokia and Apple. It moves our relationship with Apple from being adversaries in court to business partners working for the benefit of our customers."

Nokia and Apple top executives will have regular summits to ensure that the relationship works effectively and to the benefit of both parties and their customers.

In December, Nokia filed lawsuits against Apple in the US and Germany over patent infringement in Apple devices.

This was not the first time the vendors found themselves in court. In 2009 Nokia sued Apple alleging that the iPhone infringed patents for touch screen technology in smartphones owned by Nokia. That case was settled in 2011.