#ICYMI: Nokia and OPPO sign 5G patent cross-license agreement

Nokia and OPPO last week announced that both companies have signed a multi-year patent cross-license agreement.

Nokia and OPPO logos last MWC 2023

Nokia x OPPO!

Under the agreement, OPPO will pay Nokia with royalty payments, along with catch-up payments to cover the periods of non-payment.

This is an interesting development signaling an end to all the pending patent litigation between the parties, in all jurisdictions.

According to Nokia, the terms of the agreement remain confidential as agreed between the parties.

Jenni Lukander, President of Nokia Technologies said,

We are delighted to have reached a cross-license agreement with OPPO that reflects the mutual respect for each other's intellectual property and Nokia's investments in R&D and contributions to open standards. OPPO is one of the leading companies in the global smartphone market and we look forward to working together to bring further innovation to their users around the world. 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.

Feng Ying, OPPO's Chief Intellectual Property Officer stated,

We are pleased to have reached this global patent cross-license agreement with Nokia, which includes cross-licensing for 5G standard-essential patents. This agreement reflects the mutual recognition and respect for each other's intellectual property and lays the foundation for future collaboration between OPPO and Nokia. OPPO continues to advocate for reasonable royalty fees and a long-term approach to intellectual property that supports the resolution of disputes through amicable negotiations and mutual respect for the value of all intellectual property.

Nokia has over 20,000 patent families with over 6,000 patent families declared essential to 5G. This industry-leading patent portfolio is built on more than EUR 140 billion investment in R&D since 2000.

Meanwhile, OPPO has more than 5,900 patent families globally with over 3,300 5G standard patents declared to ESTI and more than 11,000 standard documents submitted to 3GPP.

According to the China Academic of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) and a report from IPlytics published in October 2023, OPPO ranks among the top companies globally in terms of 5G standard-essential patent strength.

Sources: Nokia, OPPO