Apple and Nokia renew patent deal for 5G and beyond

Apple and Nokia have agreed to a new patent license agreement that will allow Apple to use Nokia's patented inventions in 5G and other technologies. The deal will replace the previous one expiring at the end of this year.

Nokia owns over 20,000 patents, including 5,500 related to 5G technology. Nokia offers its patents on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms, meaning other companies can license them for a fee.

Apple and Nokia have a long history of patent disputes and settlements. In 2009, Apple sued Nokia for allegedly copying the iPhone design, while Nokia sued Apple for infringing on its patents. They reached a settlement in 2011. Then in 2016, they sued each other again over patent royalties before reaching another settlement in 2017. That involved a USD 2 billion payment from Apple to Nokia, and brought Withings products back to the Apple Store.

The new agreement covers 5G and other technologies for a multi-year period. Nokia said it will receive payments from Apple but did not disclose the terms of the deal. 

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Casio partners with Microsoft for wearable patents licensing deal

The Android Wear 2.0-powered Casio WSD-F20

Casio inks a deal with Microsoft so the tech company will share its wearable patents with the watchmaker. This agreement includes a “broad coverage” of Microsoft’s smartwatch technologies including patents for operating systems, connectivity, sensors, artificial intelligence, security, etc. Casio can use these technologies to supplement what it’s doing with Android Wear.

The watchmaker partnered with Google for its upcoming Casio WSD-F20, which will run on Android Wear 2.0. But Casio spent some time customizing the OS to offer a unique experience for its product. Wareable speculates Casio can build on this experience and use Microsoft’s other technologies to create compelling and unique wearables.

Canon and Microsoft sign patent licensing deal

Will we see Canon lenses on future Lumia devices? That might be a possibility with the new deal inked by Canon and Microsoft that lets both companies have easy access to each other’s secrets. The patent licensing agreement might just be to cover any possible legal issues that may arise in the future but it might also bring in new tech for both companies. Let’s just see what happens.

Source: Engadget

Google and Samsung enter 10-year patent licensing agreement

Google and Samsung have entered an agreement to license their patents over the next decade. The move is seen to help speed up product development and research and lessen any future patent lawsuits. Looks like Samsung wants to stay in Google’s good graces even as the company develops its own operating system and Google acknowledges the importance of Samsung devices for the Android market.

Source: Samsung Tomorrow