Nokia signs second patent licensing agreement with Chinese automaker
On December 17, 2024, Susanna Martikainen (Wechat) returned to Nokia as the Chief Wireless Technology Licensing Officer for Mobile Devices, Automotive, and IoT. She published an article titled "Nokia’s innovations power connected cars" on Nokia's official platform.
One part mentioned further cooperation with Chinese car manufacturers. In an inconspicuous paragraph, there is a heavyweight message hidden: a bilateral patent license agreement has been signed with a second Chinese automaker, and it is clearly stated that the automaker is a leading automaker.
Chinese automakers also increasingly recognize the importance of respecting our IPR. In April, we signed an industry first patent licensing agreement with a Chinese automaker covering the use of Nokia’s cellular and WLAN technologies in their vehicles. And this week, we concluded our second bilateral agreement with a leading Chinese automaker. Positive discussions continue with other Chinese companies, and we would like to thank our automotive licensees for respecting Nokia’s intellectual property and for their professionalism and collaborative approach. Amicable agreements reached via good faith negotiations are always our preferred outcome. Litigation is only ever a last resort. But companies who do not play by the rules should not have an unfair advantage over those who do.
At present, Nokia's progress in China has taken the most difficult first step. Eight months after reaching an agreement with the first Chinese automaker, another Chinese car company has signed a contract with it.
Whether this will become a domino effect and to what extent it will affect the competition of Chinese car companies in overseas markets remains to be further observed.
With Nokia's continuous advancement, the automotive patent platform Avanci has not made any progress. Although the two Chinese car companies that have signed contracts have solved Nokia's licensing issues, they still face licensing problems from more than 70 other licensors in Avanci's patent pool.
Moreover, Avanci is currently facing issues such as anti-monopoly inquiries in China. What choices should other Chinese car companies make in the future, whether to continue watching or secretly surging, may be a major trend in the Chinese car industry in the near future.