The precise terms of the agreement are confidential, but Nokia and HTC have settled their patent battle. The agreement comes as Microsoft’s acquisition of the device division of the Finish company draws to a conclusion, and sees the two firms entering into a “patent and technology collaboration agreement.”
Quite what this means is not yet clear — and the confidentiality of the terms mean that we may never know exactly what itentails — but ultimately it is customers who stand to benefit from another patent dispute coming to an end. This particular agreement comes not long after Ericsson, Google and Samsung also came to an agreement about patents.
What we do know about the deal that has been struck between HTC and Nokia is that HTC’s LTE patents are involved and that HTC will be making undisclosed payments to Nokia.
Nokia’s chief intellectual property officer, Paul Melin, 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.”
Both sides will be pleased that litigation has come to an end, and it will be extremely interesting to see what is meant when Nokia says that “the companies will also explore future technology collaboration opportunities.”
Could this mean HTC will delve further into the world of Windows Phone?
