Nokia and HTC Make Peace
After having met in numerous worldwide courts battling each other over patents, Nokia and HTC settled all pending patent litigation between them by entering into a patent and technology collaboration agreement.
As part of the agreement, 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 technology collaboration opportunities.
The full terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the companies said all patent litigation between them were dismissed.
"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," said Paul Melin, chief intellectual property officer at Nokia. "This agreement validates Nokia's implementation patents and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities."
"Nokia has one of the most preeminent patent portfolios in the industry," said Grace Lei, General Counsel of HTC. "As an industry pioneer in smartphones with a strong patent portfolio, HTC is pleased to come to this agreement, which will enable us to stay focused on innovation for consumers."
There have been a surprising number of patent deals in recent weeks. Google and Samsung Electronics said last month that they had entered a cross-licensing deal. Samsung, meanwhile, inked a similar deal with Cisco Systems, believed to help it with its smart-home strategy.
What's left to see is whether the biggest patent lawsuit in the industry -- a massive fight between Apple and Samsung -- will also have a good end.
The full terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the companies said all patent litigation between them were dismissed.
"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," said Paul Melin, chief intellectual property officer at Nokia. "This agreement validates Nokia's implementation patents and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities."
"Nokia has one of the most preeminent patent portfolios in the industry," said Grace Lei, General Counsel of HTC. "As an industry pioneer in smartphones with a strong patent portfolio, HTC is pleased to come to this agreement, which will enable us to stay focused on innovation for consumers."
There have been a surprising number of patent deals in recent weeks. Google and Samsung Electronics said last month that they had entered a cross-licensing deal. Samsung, meanwhile, inked a similar deal with Cisco Systems, believed to help it with its smart-home strategy.
What's left to see is whether the biggest patent lawsuit in the industry -- a massive fight between Apple and Samsung -- will also have a good end.