Smartphone company OPPO has filed several 5G patents infringement lawsuits against Finnish telecommunications company Nokia in China and Europe. According to the GizmoChina, the patents involved in the lawsuit are all 5G standard essential patents.
In the past, Nokia had filed numerous patent infringement complaints against smartphone brand OPPO regarding standard-essential patent (SEP) and non-SEP patents.
A couple of months ago, in July this year, Nokia had filed a few patent-related lawsuits against OPPO. Now, as a retaliation, the Chinese company has filed several patents infringement lawsuits against Nokia in China and Europe.
Smartphone brands OPPO and Nokia had signed a multi-year licensing agreement back in 2018 and it appears that the contract is over, a recent report claimed.
Nokia has quite a lot of patents up its sleeve and has signed royalty-bearing agreements with Samsung, Apple, LG, Lenovo, and even Blackberry, but this is likely the first time in the last decade to file a counter sued for patent infringement. This is due to a lack of high-quality assets or the lack of courage to confront Nokia head-on.
With the commercialization of 5G technology, the essential patent licensing rates between patent owners and smartphone makers have been rising.
As Covid-19 accelerates medium and long-term digital investment and value creation, 5G-enabled industries have the potential to add $8 trillion to global GDP by 2030.
Despite the economic challenges of Covid-19, a global boom in 5G investment will see 72 percent of large companies invest in 5G over the next five years.
In July this year, Nokia filed dozens of patent infringement lawsuits against OPPO in about nine countries, including India, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. While the reason behind this move hasn’t been announced, it’s likely that the companies failed to reach an agreement for the 5G patent license.
Nokia in April signed an agreement with South Korean mobile carrier LG Uplus to install its next-generation indoor 5G equipment in the country.
South Korean telecom operators have recently focused on expanding 5G coverage in indoor locations amid complaints of lack of network availability.