Patent and Technology Collaboration Agreement Signed between Nokia and HTC

It wasn’t long ago that Nokia was suing HTC for patent infringement. On Dec. 3, 2013, Nokia received a favorable ruling from a London judge. Earlier, Nokia was suing HTC for using one of its more powerful mobile phone patents.

This ruling stated that HTC could not sell its HTC One Mini phone in the U.K. This came as a setback to HTC who has been having other problems with suppliers and manufacturing. It appears that all of that may now be water under the bridge.

According to a Nokia press release, Nokia and HTC have settled all pending patent litigation between them. The two companies have entered into a patent and technology collaboration agreement. As per the terms of the agreement, HTC will make payments to Nokia and the collaboration will involve HTC's LTE patent portfolio.

This appears to be a win/win situation as HTC’s LTE patent portfolio further strengthens Nokia's licensing offering. The companies will also explore future technology collaboration opportunities. At this point in time, the full terms of the agreement are confidential and have not been discussed in public.

Paul Melin, who is the chief intellectual property officer at Nokia, 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."

General counsel for HTC, Grace Lei, had the following comments on the collaboration: "Nokia has one of the most preeminent patent portfolios in the industry. 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."

It will be interesting to see how this affects HTC. It has gone through a rough patch lately. Last year’s third quarter showed a net loss of revenue. This was the first loss in quarterly earnings for the company. As I mentioned above, there have also been delays in bringing products to market because of supplier issues.

Hopefully, the end of the patent wars between Nokia and HTC and the beginning of a collaboration will prove fruitful for both companies.