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Daimler has agreed to buy 3G and 4G licenses directly from Nokia, ending a long-running intellectual property dispute that could have forced the German group to suspend production and sales of its cars and trucks.
The manufacturer Mercedes-Benz had been sued in several German courts for having denied the purchase of licenses for the technology that connects navigation and entertainment systems to the Internet and supports semi-autonomous driving capabilities.
Although rivals such as VW have bought licenses, the premium manufacturer had rejected the cost, arguing instead that Nokia should license suppliers such as Continental and Bosch, to build the telematics control units where the connected technologies are housed.
In its legal proceedings last year, Nokia claimed that it offered Daimler a fair price for the licenses and that it was entitled to recover the billions of euros spent on the development of its inventions.
A series of sentences last year was directed against Daimler which, if complied with, could have prevented the manufacturer from building or selling cars equipped with technology based on Nokia’s patents. But Nokia chose not to pay billions of euros in bail to enforce a court order before appeals were filed against the verdicts later this year, including a referral to the EU Court of Justice.
Daimler’s decision to resolve the case puts an end to all legal proceedings between the two companies.
“The agreement is an enormously significant milestone that validates, once again, the quality of our patent portfolio, Nokia’s R&D contribution to the connected vehicle industry, and the growth opportunities of our software program. automotive licenses, ”said Jenni Lukander, president of Nokia Technologies.
In a single-line statement, Daimler, which has a large manufacturing base in Germany, said: “We welcome the solution, from an economic point of view and because we avoid long legal conflicts.”
Neither party disclosed the financial terms of the agreement.
Nokia is still facing an independent legal battle with Continental in US courts.
The Dax-listed supplier, which along with Bosch backed Daimler’s case in German courts, has also filed a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that Nokia is abusing its dominant market position.
Nokia, which prefers to license the final product rather than component manufacturers, states that “it has continually made fair bids for licensing, providing a number of flexible approaches, directly to automakers, to tier 1 suppliers. and through a set of collective licenses other actors in the industry ”.
However, Continental contends that these offers were not fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory. “Nokia promised to license anyone, but they don’t keep that promise,” said a person close to the company.
With so-called software updates on cars becoming increasingly important, German parts manufacturers are concerned that the Daimler settlement may provide a worrying precedent that could hurt the competitiveness of companies in Europe’s largest economy.
Companies, which also sell connected devices, want to be able to offer a fully licensed product to their customers.
“German courts tend to grant legal action even if the defendant does not manufacture the product and has not been offered a license,” the person added.
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