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Actually - in legal terms - a judgment for the plaintiff is a win. You can view the terms as equitable to not - but a win is a win. YOU might think since Apple is possibly paying less - that they one. It's semantics. Whether a team loses by 10 points or 20 - it's still a loss..

Where did you see the words "judgment for the plaintiff"? I'm trying to be polite here, but you just have no clue about how these settlements work.
 
Again, that's only half the story. At issue were Nokia's terms. Apple never refused to pay Nokia. They claimed they weren't getting the same deal as everyone else. They were quite willing to pay, but would right do so only under FRAND.

So first it was never an issue, but now you say it was half the issue?
 
you failed to address the issues. Other companies put patents in the pool. Those patents are worth some money so that basicly reduces the rate other companies have to pay.

Which completely defeats the purpose for FRAND. At least, Apple was arguing for a more equitable reading of the principle.
 
Nokia might fetch $39 billion, judging by comparable companies. The company's current market value is $24.6 billion, after tumbling 78 percent since Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007.

Article here


Apple could probably buy them out tomorrow. On the other hand, keeping Nokia under their heel gives them the semblance of competition. The last thing Apple wants is to be accused of having a Monopoly. :)

Apple don't have that kind of cash on tap, to spend it they'd have to pay tax on it...

not happening!
 
Which completely defeats the purpose for FRAND. At least, Apple was arguing for a more equitable reading of the principle.

FRAND is the ceiling. not the floor. You can trade patents to get below the ceiling rate.

Apple was being cheap and wanted the cheap rate others got but did not want to trade anything for it like the other did.

Apple was late to the game. It has no patents in the pool so it is going to get a higher rate. That is the price you pay if you did not help develop the technology like the others did.
 
I'm reading what LTD is saying, and I'm reading your response. And clearly, the discontinuity is that LTD is just arguing way over your head. You seem not to have the sophistication to understand his point, so you are arguing against something else entirely.

It is not disputed by ANYONE (not by LTD nor Apple) that Nokia has valid, fundamental patents that are necessary to create a cellphone product; nor is it disputed by ANYONE that Apple utilized technologies to which Nokia had rights under those patents. Rather, what Apple has stated (and LTD has repeated) is that the demands that Nokia made on Apple for compensation were onerous and inconsistent with the compensation Nokia has made on other users of this technology. Based on the information available, there is no way to verify the validity of this-- we don't know what Nokia's original demand was, nor what other companies are paying.

The other point LTD is making is that Nokia was negligent in managing their business-- they had a leadership advantage which they squandered by making poor choices. His use of the word WILLFUL is interesting-- it implies that Nokia was not making choices based on the best interests of their stockholders but, willfully, on some other basis. I don't know enough to say whether that is true, but clearly that is what LTD means.


read the post 2 posts above yours and get a clue.
 
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Thank you for putting this "debate" in perspective. Everyone is jumping on LTD, but in this circumstance, what he's saying about apple and nokia's claims is correct. Where he got a little weird was in claiming nokia willfully was tanking their business.

Due to the fact we don't know what nokia was originally asking for or are even sure what apple is paying now, anyone claiming either side "won" this lawsuit is not actually paying close attention. The biggest news we know of from all of this is that the dispute is finialuzed and no longer looms overhead.

The fact that apple cross licensed some patents with nokia tells you who won alright!!
 
You don't seem to agree, which, considering all the facts, is a biased viewpoint.

Then by your definition, your viewpoint is biased since you do agree after considering all the facts?.

And I disagree with that notion. A viewpoint isn't biased solely because you agree or disagree with the facts presented. Which - if you read through the thread - you'll see I conceded once it was pointed out that I missed an element of the story (being that it was a settlement not a verdict).

Here's perhaps a twisted example of what I mean. If it is fact that movies cost $15 - that doesn't mean that my opinion that $15 for a movie is too expensive isn't biased. It's my opinion based on the facts.

I think you might mean that I am being prejudicial or that I enter into the situation with a prejudice of Apple - fair or unfair and that is "tainting" my opinion. That's somewhat fair to assume. But in at least this case - that's not accurate. I had no bias either way. And truthfully - has little to no impact on me whatsoever either way.
 
Where did you see the words "judgment for the plaintiff"? I'm trying to be polite here, but you just have no clue about how these settlements work.

Oh for Pete's sake. Read the thread and how this conversation evolved. I was responding to a specific comment in context which you are now taking out of context, reposting and responding to.

There was no verdict here - it was a settlement. I was responding to an earlier post/comment.
 
Nokia might fetch $39 billion, judging by comparable companies. The company's current market value is $24.6 billion, after tumbling 78 percent since Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007.

Article here


Apple could probably buy them out tomorrow. On the other hand, keeping Nokia under their heel gives them the semblance of competition. The last thing Apple wants is to be accused of having a Monopoly. :)

What makes you think Apple or anyone else is entitled to buying Nokia?
 
I don't get all these 'Oh Apple lost, shame on them for trying to copy other peoples patents' comments. That was never the point of this case.

Apple knew they had to pay royalties and were more than prepared to do so. The issue was Nokia wanted to charge Apple more than they charge other manufacturers for the same patents. Quite rightfully Apple challenged this.

Whilst it looks on paper that Apple lost because they paid out, what's to say Nokia didn't back down and lower their demands therefore Apple happily paid the money they knew they owed and were prepared to pay?

No Apple denied that any of the patents were essential to the iPhone.

Only Apple stated that FRAND terms weren't offered.

Apple wanted to join the GSM patent pool WITHOUT cross licensing any of its' patents.

Now they are paying AND cross licensing!

Need a map?
 
There's no way to get around using Nokia's IP. And there's no way Nokia can refuse to license it.

To expand on your question, there's no actual "winning here" unless Apple disputed the validity of Nokia's GSM et al patents to begin with, which would have been pointless.

Nokia *must* license these particular patents to everyone because they are a necessity. In turn, there is no way that any potential licensee can get out of licensing them. So the relationship Nokia has with those that produce wireless phones is more or less inevitable. At some point you're going to be a licensee and Nokia will be the licensor.

Apple was not disputing Nokia's patents in question. There's really no disputing them by anyone. The complaint that Apple had was that Nokia was charging Apple "x" while charging everyone else "y." FRAND terms exist for patents like these to ensure a level of equal and unfettered access. So, the patent holder can't use their position as a holder of GSM patents to extort money from others. There is a requirement for equal and fair treatment in terms of access and licensing costs.

Apple essentially said "we know we have to pay you, but what's up with charging us so much more?? We have a problem with that. So we'll hold off on paying you because we think what you're doing to us is unjust under FRAND requirements. We'll figure this out in court."

The only way to "win" in this case would mean that Nokia would receive what they asked for originally, namely the amount (however much it was) that Apple alleged was exorbitant and outside FRAND terms. If, however, Apple ended up paying Nokia the same amount everyone else was paying them, or otherwise a fair deal under FRAND, then it's not really a win for Nokia. What it is, and could reasonably be inferred, is a much-needed payout for Nokia. We don't know the amounts. We don't know whether Apple got the deal they were looking for or if they got a different deal that they considered equitable under FRAND. What happened is they settled. Given that this ended earlier than anyone expected, one of the parties decided it was best to either come up with a better deal, or to simply pay what the other asked for.

Now, the fact that this case settled way early is interesting. These tend to go on for years. We don't know the scheduling and dates for this case (or do we?) But if there was an expectation by parties involved that the case would have gone on for far longer than it did, that there would be further opportunities for ongoing arguments, all the while with Apple still holding out on payment, then it wold likely not have been Apple who decided to end it early, since there was no actual requirement to do so.

Would it have been in Nokia's best interest to get this money (or get anything at all) asap? Yes. Given their dismal situation, they need it.

Whether Apple needed to settle *now* as opposed to later (they waited *this* long, after all), is pretty hazy.

Unfortunately, there are still some facts that we don't have. However, "winning" and "losing" don't really apply here unless we know who paid what, measured against original payment terms. If your terms were originally $500 and I end up paying you $350 then you didn't really win. Especially if we both knew that you were required to give me the product and I was required to pay for it anyway at some point.


exactly what Apple originally did!
 
well done Nokia...deserved.

Good luck with WP7 though ... you'll need it!

Really now? How the hell is it deserved? You seriously believe Nokia deserves $ from every future iPhone sold?

You know how all of you were bitching about the (utterly insignificant) money Apple spent replacing their store tags with iPads? Or currently bitching about the potential cost of Apple's new campus? Yeah, this payout and these royalties will constitute more than that, and will not benefit Apple in the least, but instead help out their competition. It seems you guys bitch and moan when Apple actual spends money to improve itself, and are overjoyed when they piss it away on **** like this.
 
And you're right on that point. They settled. Which doesn't equate to a win. Unlike some posters - I can admit when I'm mistaken. That being said - it's a significant settlement for Nokia on monies they either wouldn't have seen (for a long time) or of lesser value.
That I totally agree with you on. And to be honest, they do deserve it. People can hate on Nokia all they want, I am not a huge fan of them myself, but coming from a Computer Engineering background, I can tell you the whole cellphone industry owes Nokia a lot. They were definitely the pioneers.
 
Really now? How the hell is it deserved? You seriously believe Nokia deserves $ from every future iPhone sold?

You know how all of you were bitching about the (utterly insignificant) money Apple spent replacing their store tags with iPads? Or currently bitching about the potential cost of Apple's new campus? Yeah, this payout and these royalties will constitute more than that, and will not benefit Apple in the least, but instead help out their competition. It seems you guys bitch and moan when Apple actual spends money to improve itself, and are overjoyed when they piss it away on **** like this.


the alternative is that Apple don't license the tech and pay the fees and have no GSM device.

Is that better?

No license, no iPhone.
 
Nokia is a hell of a lot more than a, "dumphone" maker or a patent-troll.

You're talking about one of the oldest surviving telecommunications companies in the world. ...

They are a great company with great tech, but they are also in the position they are today because of other companies who developed great tech.


Kodak was a great company at one time too.

Ramon Llamas: Nokia is very fast at turning things around.

If they were so fast, they would have adapted by now. They tried to make their 'great tech', Symbian, work but was not successful and realized that they have to join Microsoft or Google (like Motorola) (or both like HTC).

If they don't turn things around soon, the only company they'll be joining is Kodak ... living off of royalties.
 
Kodak was a great company at one time too.



If they were so fast, they would have adapted by now. They tried to make their 'great tech', Symbian, work but was not successful and realized that they have to join Microsoft or Google (like Motorola) (or both like HTC).

If they don't turn things around soon, the only company they'll be joining is Kodak ... living off of royalties.


I don't think Nokia did too much wrong, they still make the best hardware (by miles) and thye just got beat by 2 of the biggest and the best.

Who'd have predicted the current scenario back in 07?

Amazing job by both Apple and Google.
 
Really now? How the hell is it deserved? You seriously believe Nokia deserves $ from every future iPhone sold?

Yes, because Nokia (and several other companies) spent billions of dollars to develop the technology that the iPhone uses to make phone calls, and to send or receive data over 3G. Without this technology, the iPhone would just be an iPod Touch. Apple itself always said that Nokia deserves license payments - they only disagreed strongly with Nokia about the amount.

Now remember that the "Estimated $608 million" is just a WAG that an analyst pulled out of his arse; that number is exactly one percent of a rough estimate of the total revenue that Apple made from iPhones so far. We can safely assume that Apple and Nokia have been haggling about hundredths of percents here, so an agreement of _exactly_ one percent is unlikely. Second, percentage of end user price doesn't make sense. An iPhone 3 with 8 GB memory uses these patents just as much as an iPhone 4 with 64 GB even though the sales price is totally different. Nokia wouldn't want to get less for the cheaper phone, and Apple wouldn't want to pay more for the more expensive phone. So the agreement is probably a mixture of some fixed cost per phone plus some percentage of sales price. And finally, that enormous number of $608 million is one percent of revenue. In other words, $60,800 million revenue.
 
And NOKIA changed it's business from phoneindustry giant to patent trolling >.<

You must be one of those people who screams "patent trolling" as soon as some company other than Apple does this. When Apple does it, it's just a matter of protecting their properties, right?
 
I don't think Nokia did too much wrong, they still make the best hardware (by miles) and thye just got beat by 2 of the biggest and the best.

Who'd have predicted the current scenario back in 07?

Amazing job by both Apple and Google.

I think i see where you are coming from... it is easy to see things in hindsight.

But consider this perspective:
As recent as 2009/10 Nokia, could still have licensed Android (or Windows). HTC sells both platforms and has increased under $10B to over $33B in the last 2 years (surpassing Nokia, RIM). And Nokia has deep in-roads into distribution that it could leverage; in otherwords, there's no shame in selling other platforms while you sort out your strategy (or maybe better put, making money and gaining market share is better than having your stock price dive from $40 down to $6)

edit: even spending $1.2B for Palm may have worked out better.
 
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Then by your definition, your viewpoint is biased since you do agree after considering all the facts?.
I'm reasonably sure I have never claimed to be unbiased (about Apple) in any post on this forum.

I would say there is no argument where one side is 100% in the right. Arguing itself belies that.
 
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