After just a few short months of legal proceedings that materialized largely behind-closed-doors, Apple and Nokia on Tuesday announced via a joint statement that they’ve officially settled the score between them, putting an end to all their hotly-contested patent lawsuits, while ultimately agreeing to the terms of a new partnership that would see the phone-maker’s work together to create a number of “exciting new products” for years to come.
“We are pleased with this resolution of our dispute and we look forward to expanding our business relationship with Nokia,” said Apple’s chief operating officer, Jeff Williams, while Basil Alwan, Nokia’s president of IP and Optical Networks, added that “This agreement will strengthen our collaboration. We look forward to supporting Apple.”
The Apple-Nokia legal drama began back in December of 2016, when the former decided to pull Nokia’s health-related products — marketed under the Withing’s brand — from its store shelves, accusing the Finnish phone-maker of “using the tactics of a patent troll” when Nokia then decided to sue Apple over a total of 32 phone-related patents.
Apple then accused Nokia of “extortion,” and as a result of the Finnish-company’s initial lawsuit, Cupertino then decided to stop paying Nokia to use a variety of its patents — many of which apply to components used in manufacturing the iPhone. The tug-of-war continued from there, with Nokia filing 11 different lawsuits in various jurisdictions around the world (including in Germany and the U.S.), defending its intellectual property to the very end. The Apple-Nokia dispute was relatively short lived, however — at least in comparison to how long similar patent suits typically drag on for — and the new agreement that’s arisen from its midst could ultimately allow the two companies to create a myriad of products and services moving forward.
Nokia and Apple’s Partnership
Under the terms of their new agreement, Nokia will provide Apple with an undisclosed amount of “network infrastructure products and services” — while Apple will resume selling Nokia’s collection of Withing’s-branded health products via its online and retail storefronts. Best of all, the partnership wrought as the result of their legal dispute appears to have moved Nokia and Apple to join forces, as they will work together to create a variety of “digital health products” and work together on new health initiatives.
Apple has also agreed to begin paying Nokia royalties on the contested patents, effective beginning the 2nd quarter of 2017, the companies announced via their joint statement. The remaining details about the agreement, its financial terms, or the products and services that Nokia and Apple could develop together remain under wraps at this time — however it’s certainly a step in the right direction, nevertheless, when two rivals in the tech space come together for good rather than just sit there fighting it out in court.
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