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Daimler Must Pay Nokia Patent Fees In German Suit

By  |  June 1, 2021

Daimler has agreed to pay Nokia for using its patents, ending a row that highlighted a battle between tech and car companies over royalties for key technologies, reported Reuters.

Nokia, which makes €1.4 billion (US$1.7 billion) in licensing revenues every year, and carmaker Daimler had sued each other in German courts in recent years, with mixed results.

Tech firms want automakers to pay royalties for technologies used in navigation systems, vehicle communications and self-driving cars, but the latter say their suppliers should pay instead, which could reduce the fees for patent holders.

The agreement announced jointly on Tuesday, June 1, marks the latest win for Nokia which in April struck a deal with China’s Lenovo under which the world’s biggest PC maker would make a net balancing payment to the Finnish telecom equipment maker and resolve all pending litigation.

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