Daimler agrees to attempt resolution of Nokia license dispute out of the courtroom
Nokia, Daimler, and a number of suppliers have agreed to come together to resolve a license dispute before reaching court, potentially circumventing an EU antitrust investigation.
On Thursday, Nokia said in a statement, "We expect the mediation to take place soon and look forward to constructive dialogue with all parties with the aim of reaching an amicable and definitive resolution."
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Last week, as reported by Reuters, Nokia made a last-ditch attempt to negotiate with Daimler and a number of car part suppliers before taking the licensing issue to court.
The Finnish telecoms giant claims that German automaker Daimler owes for licensing fees in relation to patents and intellectual property for technology crucial to intelligent vehicle communication.
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According to Nokia, no terms or payments have been set for Daimler to use IP apparently belonging to the firm's portfolio.
Now that the companies embroiled in the argument have agreed to independent mediation, planned court hearings -- already postponed once -- will likely remain suspended, at least until all other avenues are exhausted.
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In addition, this means that a potential antitrust investigation being considered by the European Commission (EC), based on a complaint submitted by Daimler, may be avoided. EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager has approved the efforts made by the businesses to resolve the case on their own.
Daimler said in a statement that the companies held "different legal opinion on the issue [of[ how essential patents for telecommunications standards are to be licensed in the automotive industry" and this would be a subject for discussion during the mediation talks.