An arbitration courtroom ordered smartphone pioneer BlackBerry Ltd to pay $137 million (roughly Rs. 883.5 crores) to Nokia to settle a cost dispute and the Canadian firm stated it could pursue a separate patent infringement case in opposition to the Finnish agency.
The Worldwide Courtroom of Arbitration dominated earlier this week that BlackBerry had didn’t make sure funds to Nokia beneath a patent licence contract, BlackBerry stated on Friday.
The ruling, in a beforehand undisclosed disagreement over a smartphone know-how licensing deal signed in 2012, highlights the monetary dangers know-how corporations face from disputes over mental property, that are generally resolved via confidential arbitration processes unknown to buyers.
BlackBerry won a $940 million payout from chipmaker Qualcomm earlier this yr in an analogous case of disputed funds.
BlackBerry has beforehand stated it’s trying to generate extra income from its portfolio of some 40,000 patents by licensing them to different know-how corporations, and in November stated that US-based Marconi Group would assist it license out a broad vary of its patents.
It’s typically tough for buyers to worth an organization’s patent portfolio given the opaque nature of licensing offers and disputes.
“Patent points are going to return up now and again and as one-offs,” stated Todd Coupland, an analyst at CIBC World Markets. “Getting in entrance of them, except there may be some element, goes to be robust.”
BlackBerry shares have been down 1.9 % in noon Toronto buying and selling, Nokia closed 2 % decrease in Helsinki.
BlackBerry disclosed in February that it had filed separate patent infringement complaints in opposition to Nokia, alleging that a number of of the Finnish community gear maker’s base stations and associated software program infringed on 11 of its patents.
Nokia, which sells these merchandise to telecom operators, stated in an announcement on Friday that it believes these infringement claims “are with out benefit.”
BlackBerry stated it could take a GAAP cost on its outcomes, however didn’t say when the ruling would hit its financials.
Nokia stated a good portion of the quantity awarded had already been recognised in its financials.
Nokia bought its once-dominant cellphone enterprise in 2014, sticking to its community gear enterprise and broad patent portfolio. It has licensed know-how to smartphone makers Samsung Electronics, Apple, Xiaomi Technology and LG Electronics.
© Thomson Reuters 2017
