BREAKINGVIEWS-Nokia-Apple spat lays bare tech law of the jungle
18:27 (23/05) - Bron: RTRS
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are his own.)
By Liam Proud
LONDON, May 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - For an insight into
the tech sector's law of the jungle, look at the agreement
between Apple and Nokia NOKIA.HE . The two groups
settled a patent dispute on Tuesday with a deal in which the
U.S. giant will buy network kit from its Finnish peer, and sell
Nokia products in its Apple stores. Patent wars may appear be
about legal rights and wrongs, but combatants will often settle
for just a slightly bigger slice of the pie.
Both sides took legal action around the time a licensing
agreement expired last year. Nokia accused Apple of violating
technology patents, while Apple complained it was being
overcharged. Neither side said what patents were at issue.
Still, both sides seem to have conceded something. As well as
settling their litigation, a new "business collaboration
agreement" will see Nokia provide network and infrastructure
products and services to Apple. Meanwhile, Apple will again
stock Nokia's digital health products online and in its stores.
Who gave more? The real question might be who had more to
lose. Credit Suisse analysts estimate Nokia could see 200
million euros of ongoing annual royalties from Apple. Yet
Nokia's market capitalisation rose more than 2 billion euros
after the truce was announced - around three times more than the
value of that revenue, when taxed, capitalised and put on the
same 47 percent operating margin as Nokia's technology division.
That suggests investors attach value to the rest of the
settlement, and the fact Nokia has dodged potential legal fees.
More importantly, the deal makes clear that the spat was
never just about intellectual property law. Apple made $53
billion of revenue last quarter, relying on myriad patents for
top sellers including the iPhone and iPad. Patent owners are
involved in a constant tug of war with the tech giant for a
bigger slice of its top line. Nokia, which has invested more
than 115 billion euros on research and development over the last
20 years, wanted a bigger share of the value chain. It looks to
have partly succeeded.