Motorola and Nokia have entered into a 4G licence agreement, covering patents related to LTE (Long-Term Evolution), WiMax and LTE Advanced.
Both companies extended their existing intellectual property licensing agreement to include 4G cellular technologies. The terms of the agreement are confidential.
“We are pleased to extend our existing IP licensing agreement with Nokia to include 4G technologies and are confident this agreement will help foster continued innovation and technological advancement for the telecommunications industry,” said Kirk Dailey, corporate vice-president of intellectual property, Motorola Mobility, Inc.
“Motorola is committed to leveraging the strength of its industry-leading intellectual property portfolio for the benefit of its customers, partners, shareholders and licensees.”
Nokia Siemens said in July that it would buy Motorola’s telecom network equipment for US$1.2bn.
This patent deal could be a way for both companies to show that they are on the same wavelength, says Sylvain Fabre, research director in the Carrier Network Infrastructure group of Gartner.
LTE technology has been gathering speed and companies wish to decide on patents for how revenues from it are split up.
However, Fabre believes it will take another three to four years for companies to fully settle on these licences.
