Patent licensing

For more than 30 years, we have been pushing the boundaries of what's possible in communication. Nokia has defined many of the fundamental technologies used in virtually all mobile devices and taken a leadership role in open standardization. Today, our inventions power entire industries such as smartphones, consumer electronics, video and multimedia services, automotive and the wider Internet of Things (IoT) domain.

Since 2000 Nokia has invested over €150bn in research and development (R&D), and our annual investment is more than €4bn. As a result, we have built one of the broadest and strongest patent portfolios in the telecommunications industry with around 20,000 patent families (each family can comprise several individual patents). 

We own a leading share of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) in every generation of cellular standards with over 7,000 patent families declared as essential to 5G. Our patented inventions also cover significant multimedia technologies, particularly in the field of video compression.  

As one of the first companies in the world, Nokia has achieved the highly respected  ISO 9001 certification for our high-quality patent portfolio management. 

The licensing of global cellular standards and other technologies has enabled tremendous innovation, consumer choice and industry growth. Standardized technologies allow products manufactured by different companies to communicate seamlessly with each other. Open standardization also enables new market entrants to develop standardized, interoperable products without having to make their own substantial investments in R&D. 

In return licensees pay royalty fees for the use of our technology, which we re-invest, along with additional investment, in developing the next generation of inventions. 

With our cutting-edge work in standardization and our leading 5G patent portfolio, we are driving the delivery of the next generation of cellular connectivity, including 5G Advanced and 6G.