Helsinki: Ailing Nokia said on Tuesday it had ended a legal battle with Apple, which will pay an undisclosed one-off fee and ongoing royalties to the Finnish firm.
"Apple and Nokia have agreed to drop all of our current lawsuits and enter into a license covering some of each others' patents, but not the majority of the innovations that make the iPhone unique," said an Apple spokesman.
"We're glad to put this behind us and get back to focusing on our respective businesses, " an Apple spokesman said.
The two firms were locked in a legal tussle since October 2009, when Nokia sued Apple in the United States, arguing the iPhone-maker was getting a "free ride" on technologies patented by Nokia.
Nokia said the deal - which includes settling all litigation between the two and withdrawal of both sides complaints to the U.S. International Trade Commission - would boost its second-quarter earnings, but said specific terms were confidential.
"The deal structure - a one-time payment as well as running royalties - suggests a fairly good outcome for Nokia," said Florian Mueller, independent specialist and blogger on patent battles.
"Maybe Nokia could have continued to play hardball and got an even better deal if it didn't face the challenges it undoubtedly has. But this looks like a fairly important victory," Mueller said.
Legal battles have become increasingly common in the cellphone industry since Apple and Google carved out a large chunk of the lucrative and quickly expanding smartphone market at the expense of older players.
On May 31 Nokia warned on second quarter sales and profits, while abandoning hope of meeting key targets just weeks after setting them, raising questions over whether its new CEO Stehen Elop can deliver on the turnaround he promised.
Nokia has lost initiative in the smartphone market to Apple's iPhone and Google Inc's Android devices, and at the lower end to more nimble Asian rivals.
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