Nokia and China's Oppo resolve disputes through cross-license deal

STOCKHOLM: Finnish telecom gear maker Nokia said on Wednesday it had signed a 5G patent cross-licensing deal with Chinese device maker Oppo that resolves patent litigation between the companies.

Nokia has been involved in legal disputes with several Chinese tech firms, including Oppo and Vivo, over patent payments. The Finnish group recently signed an agreement with Chinese smartphone maker Honor.

"Under the agreement Oppo will make royalty payments, along with catch-up payments to cover the periods of non-payment," Nokia said in a statement. "The agreement resolves all pending patent litigation between the parties, in all jurisdictions."

OP Corporate Bank analyst Kimmo Stenvall said investors had expected the parties to reach an agreement "sooner or later".

Nokia' shares were roughly flat at 1049 GMT.

Inderes analyst Atte Riikola said it was good uncertainty was now lifted about the timing of the deal, after the process had taken longer than expected.

Nokia in December warned it would not meet its financial outlook for 2023, saying talks over unspecified license renewals would continue into this year.

Riikola said he expected Nokia to soon reach an agreement also with Vivo.

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