Apple and Nokia announced today the conclusion of a collaboration agreement and the withdrawal of all the lawsuits they filed against each other in various areas of the planet. At the end and beginning of this year, Apple and Nokia sued each other due to disputes regarding technologies patented by Finns, which are used in American products.
These legal disputes ended today with the announcement made by Nokia and Apple, they signed licensing agreements whose validity period extends over several years. Those from Nokia welcomed the change of attitude of the Apple company, stating that the conclusion of the licensing and collaboration agreements changes the position of the two companies from opponents to collaborators.
Based on the collaboration agreement, Nokia will provide Apple with networking equipment and infrastructure for the American company's products. Those from Apple will resume selling Withings products in stores around the world, now available under the Nokia brand, and the collaboration will expand beyond that.
Apple and Nokia sign a collaboration agreement, withdraw the lawsuits
Nokia makes it clear that it will collaborate with Apple in the development of medical products, but also that the managers of the two companies will meet regularly to maintain the companies' collaboration. Those from Apple also declared themselves delighted with the idea of being able to expand their collaboration with Nokia and of course they will have a lot to gain.
Neither Nokia nor Apple have declared the amount paid by the Americans for licensing the technologies of the Finns, but Apple will initially pay a sum of money and will continue the payments in the following years. Nokia will partially disclose these payments when it announces its financial results for the second quarter of 2017, so we will know more then.
"This is a meaningful agreement between Nokia and Apple. It moves our relationship with Apple from being adversaries in court to business partners working for the benefit of our customers. We are pleased with this resolution of our dispute and we look forward to expanding our business relationship with Nokia, This agreement will strengthen our collaboration. We look forward to supporting Apple."
Since Apple decided to end the lawsuits with Nokia and start licensing its technologies again, it is very clear that it understood that it would not be able to win anything legally. The collaboration between the two companies will bring more innovations for the whole world, and Apple has enough money to pay for everything.
