Apple Licensed iOS Patent to Nokia, Offered It to Samsung Too?

This summer we reported that the Nokia-Apple war, which was going down in a court room instead of the market, was settled. Nokia initially sued Apple at the end of 2009 over ten GSM, UMTS, and WiFi related patents allegedly infringed by Cupertino in its iPhones; Apple got back in the game with a lawsuit against Espoo for alleged infringement of thirteen Apple patents.

Turns out that when the two companies reached a settlement and withdrew complaints from the U.S. International Trade Commission, Apple not only paid up a one-time check but also forked over on-going royalties to Nokia. One of the things Apple licensed to Nokia – and IBM – is reportedly the iOS software patent related to scrolling, especially the part where over-scrolling reveals a textured background. This by itself demonstrates that Apple lost a major fight as the Cupertino company was never so willing to give away code, especially if that bit was referring to iOS.

What’s even more interesting is that Apple reportedly offered the license to the same patent to Samsung during failed settlement negotiations in November 2010. This, of course, in a context in which the late Steve Jobs wanted to “destroy Android” because he regarded it as being a stolen product. There’s no information on why those specific negotiations failed (or whether others are ongoing with lawsuits between the two companies now existing on almost every continent).

Source: The Verge
Via: MyNokiaBlog