Apple Settles Patent Suit with Nokia

Nokia NOK announced Tuesday that it had signed a patent license agreement with Apple AAPL, ending litigation between the two companies. "We are very pleased to have Apple join the growing number of Nokia licensees," said Stephen Elop, president and chief executive officer of Nokia. "This settlement demonstrates Nokia's industry leading patent portfolio and enables us to focus on further licensing opportunities in the mobile communications market." Concerning the financial structure of the agreement, it includes a one-time payment payable by Apple and on-going royalties to be paid by Apple to Nokia for the term of the agreement. The specific terms of the contract are confidential. While Nokia was appreciative of the development, it still faces a significant battle in the wireless industry. According to a Reuters report, "The figures demonstrate that while Nokia may have won a legal victory, it still faces a daunting task to catch up with Apple in the high end of the smartphone market, where it has fallen behind both Apple's iPhone and Google Inc's GOOG Android devices.' Nokia holds over 10,000 patent families in the wireless industry. The Nokia statement notes that "This agreement is expected to have a positive financial impact on Nokia's recently revised outlook for the second quarter 2011 of around break-even non-IFRS operating margin for Devices & Services."