Patent licensing

For more than 30 years, we have been advancing connectivity. 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, our patent portfolio is one of the broadest and strongest in the telecommunications industry with around 26,000 patent families (each family can comprise several individual granted patents). 

We own a leading portfolio of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) in every generation of cellular standards with over 7,000 patent families declared as essential to 5G standard. We have created over 5,000 patented multimedia inventions since 2000, covering significant technologies for video compression, and more. We also have a substantial portfolio of essential Wi-FI patents.

Nokia was one of the first companies in the world to achieve 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. 

Patents are a key ingredient in open standardization: they allow participating companies to disclose and share their technologies openly, knowing that their innovations will be protected.

Licensing patents to implementers of standardized technology enables adequate compensation to the developers of technology standards, such as Nokia, making their R&D investments economically viable. 

In return licensees pay royalty fees for the use of our patented technology, which we re-invest, along with additional investment, in developing the next generation of inventions like 6G.
 

We license our SEPs in accordance with fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. Learn more about SEP licensing here. 

Our team can help you enter into a patent license agreement tailored for your business. 

We have dedicated patent licensing programs for mobile devices, automotive, consumer electronics, IoT devices and solutions, video services, and gaming. We currently have over 250 licensees licensed through our patent licensing programs.

Learn more about how our inventions power entire industries. Explore some of the essential technologies we have created in the Innovations gallery.

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

We also drive advanced multimedia research and standardization. The work of Nokia’s inventors in video research and standardization has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including six Technology & Engineering Emmy® Awards, achieved together with our standardization partners. Furthermore, our inventors remain at the forefront of innovative audio communication.