Chinese smartphone brand Oppo has finally thrown the towel in and cut a deal with Nokia after initially using Nokia’s patented technology in their devices, a move that saw their product stripped from retailers’ shelves.
The Chinese Company that is owned by BBK Electronics, has been forced to pay a license fee to Nokia Oyj, ending a years-long dispute and allowing the Chinese Company to start propping retailers to restock their products in Europe where retailers were forced to drop the product after various courts ruled in Nokia’s favour.
Bloomberg reports that the two companies reached an agreement to license 5G and other wireless technology patents, ending a series of lawsuits across the globe, they said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
The pact covers standards-essential patents in 5G and other cellular communication technologies and will contribute to Espoo-based Nokia’s IP licensing revenue.
There has been no announcement as to whether HMD Global will retain the rights to sell Nokia branded smartphones after 2025.
Nokia management warned at the end of last year that it won’t meet its sales outlook because licensing deals it had anticipated had slipped into the new year.
“The new agreement – along with the other major smartphone agreements we have concluded over the past year – will provide long-term financial stability to our licensing business,” Jenni Lukander, president of Nokia Technologies, said in the statement.
There has been no mention of whether the Nokia brand has been licensed to a Chinese Company after 2025 with an announcement expected at Mobile World Congress in February 2024.
