In a statement on January 24, Nokia said that under the agreement, Oppo will pay royalties to Nokia, as well as pay off previous debts. The exact amount is unclear because both parties said this is a confidential term.
The transaction will resolve all pending patent disputes between the parties in all jurisdictions. The scope of the agreement includes standard-essential patents (SEPs) in 5G and other cellular technologies. Products require SEPs to comply with industry standards.
According to analyst Kimmo Stenvall, it is only a matter of time before the two sides reach an agreement.
In December 2023, Nokia warned that it would miss its 2023 financial target and said that negotiations on a license extension would continue into 2024. Analyst Atte Riikola predicted that Nokia would soon reach a deal with Vivo.
Nokia and Oppo have been in litigation in 12 countries since 2021 over disagreements over Nokia’s 5G licensing fees. In some markets, the court’s ruling in Nokia’s favor has resulted in Oppo being banned from selling its products. For example, after losing a lawsuit against Nokia in Germany in 2022, Oppo suspended its operations there and removed most of its products from its website.
Oppo has not commented on the impact of the cross-deal on its operations in Germany. The Chinese company is still facing legal challenges there, with a Munich court ruling that Oppo had infringed on the copyrights of InterDigital, an American mobile and wireless technology company, and issuing an injunction against it.
The Nokia-Oppo deal comes after a Chinese court upheld Oppo’s bid to lower licensing fees for Nokia’s SEPs covering technologies ranging from 2G to 5G. In December 2023, the Chongqing Intermediate People’s Court ruled that a fair licensing fee should be $1.151 per 5G device in developed markets, including Europe, and $0.707 per device in other countries, including China.
Oppo is under pressure to resolve patent disputes and boost global sales amid fierce competition. The company’s smartphone shipments fell 9.9% last year amid a difficult macroeconomic environment, according to data from research firm IDC.
Earlier this month, Nokia and Honor signed a licensing agreement for SEPs in mobile technology, including 5G.
(According to SCMP, Reuters)
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