Over the past 18 months, Europe has seen the gradual retreat of several smartphone brands in the BKK stable that had previously soaked up much of the market share left void by the ban on Huawei handsets. With shops being closed, the choice of handsets available to purchase ever-shrinking, and Realme pulling out of the UK, it seemed that the ongoing patent dispute with Nokia would cost BKK brands the entire European market. Thankfully, and surprisingly, both combatants have announced that an agreement has been reached. While it's too early to tell if the damage wreaked by the dispute has done permanent damage, we may yet see the likes of Oppo, OnePlus, and Realme challenging the likes of Samsung, Xiaomi, and Honor in the region.
Finally
Having first been acted upon after a court case went against BKK in Germany regarding a disagreement over patent licensing, the subsequent impact of the suit was felt across Europe. It impacted most, if not all, BKK brands. Neither Oppo nor Nokia have given specifics of the agreement, although it is known that Oppo has agreed to make catch-up payments to cover the periods it refused to pay licensing fees and that it's a multi-year deal. Other than that, the details of the agreement remain confidential.
It's important to note that while we are talking about Nokia, we are, in fact, not referring to HMD Global's Nokia, but rather the corporation that holds all the licenses and IP patents, as well as working on networking technologies.
Lots Of Respect And Delight
As you might expect from such a settlement, both OPPO and Nokia are delighted about the resolution of the issue and the long-term agreement, with the following comments being issued:
“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.””
Feng Ying, Chief Intellectual Property Officer at OPPO
And Nokia:
“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.”
Jenni Lukander, President of Nokia Technologies
It's Not Going To Be Easy
For Nokia, the agreement means that it can focus on other things, but for the likes of Oppo and Realme, it leaves the prospect of trying to recover the market share they lost when the various bans were in effect. The newly resurgent Honor took the opportunity to make once again itself a force to be reckoned with, thanks to its expertise in both the flagship and affordable smartphone segments.
With MWC 2024 looming on the horizon, perhaps we'll see some big announcements from the likes of Oppo and Realme as to their plans for Europe now that all litigation suits have been dropped.
