知識產(chǎn)權(quán)法仲裁仲裁公布公布國家searchsearch
原標(biāo)題:諾基亞再“撕”蘋果,專利問題是個(gè)永遠(yuǎn)邁不過去的坎兒
之前好不容易達(dá)成和解的老冤家諾基亞和蘋果,最近又因?yàn)閷@麊栴}“開撕”了。
12 月 21 日,諾基亞在官網(wǎng)發(fā)布聲明,稱將在美國和德國對蘋果公司提起訴訟,指控后者的產(chǎn)品侵犯了自己的多項(xiàng)專利。
這筆訴訟涉及顯示屏、用戶界面、軟件、天線、芯片組和視頻編碼等 32 項(xiàng)專利,目前已遞交德國的杜塞爾多夫、曼海姆、慕尼黑地方法庭以及美國的德克薩斯州東區(qū)法庭。
諾基亞專利部門負(fù)責(zé)人 Ilkka Rahnasto 在聲明中表示:
經(jīng)過持續(xù)不斷的投資、研究和發(fā)展,諾基亞已經(jīng)為手機(jī)領(lǐng)域貢獻(xiàn)了多項(xiàng)基礎(chǔ)性的技術(shù),并被應(yīng)用到包括蘋果在內(nèi)的大部分移動(dòng)設(shè)備中。多年來,我們一直試圖通過談判與蘋果達(dá)成一致,但現(xiàn)在,我們要采取行動(dòng)來維護(hù)權(quán)益。
據(jù)悉,消息傳出后,諾基亞的股價(jià)大跌。
蘋果與諾基亞的愛恨情仇
諾基亞在聲明中稱,自 2011 年與蘋果達(dá)成協(xié)議后,蘋果同意從諾基亞的專利組合中獲取一部分專利的授權(quán),但拒絕后者提出的獲取其他專利發(fā)明授權(quán)的要求。這些沒有獲得諾基亞授權(quán)的專利,卻被使用在蘋果公司的產(chǎn)品中。
但蘋果也不愿白白被指控,他們回?fù)簦褐Z基亞現(xiàn)在就靠專利授權(quán)來“撈錢”。
蘋果表示,諾基亞的手機(jī)業(yè)務(wù)呈現(xiàn)頹勢,所以開始將專利轉(zhuǎn)移至第三方專利行使公司,通過這些專利行使公司收取的高額專利費(fèi)用來獲取暴利。這樣的做法嚴(yán)重破壞了 FRAND(Fair,Reasonable,and Non-Discriminatory Terms)準(zhǔn)則,即公平、合理和不帶歧視性的條款。
(圖片來自:The Verge)
光說不練假把式,蘋果近日還對 Acacia Research 和 Conversant Intellectual Property Management 兩家第三方專利行使公司提起了訴訟,指控其涉嫌與諾基亞聯(lián)手“敲詐”不合理的專利授權(quán)費(fèi)用。
對簿公堂的情況已經(jīng)不是第一次發(fā)生了。
2009 年 10 月,諾基亞向美國特拉華州聯(lián)邦地方法院起訴,指控蘋果侵犯其與 GSM、UMTS 和 WLAN 相關(guān)的多項(xiàng)基礎(chǔ)技術(shù)專利。隨后,蘋果也針對專利問題向諾基亞“反擊”。2011 年,在耗時(shí)近兩年的“斡旋”之后,諾基亞與蘋果終于就專利侵權(quán)糾紛達(dá)成全面和解。
盡管雙方并未透露具體的數(shù)字,但分析師稱蘋果將一次性向諾基亞支付約 4.2 億歐元的賠償金,并將根據(jù)銷量分季度向諾基亞支付后續(xù)專利使用費(fèi)。根據(jù)當(dāng)年的銷量估算,蘋果將每季度為此支出 9500 萬歐元,并且隨著 iPhone 銷量的增長,這筆費(fèi)用也會(huì)增加。
(圖片來自:Village Of Bel-Ridge)
在付了這么多年的“買路錢”后,如今又見“合伙打劫”,蘋果當(dāng)然不樂意;而對于諾基亞而言,老虎雖然不再是老虎,但也不是病貓,眼見蘋果這么多年“暗戳戳”使用專利,但費(fèi)用卻未按時(shí)交付,現(xiàn)在必須好好說道說道。
舊仇新怨,再加上諾基亞近日要重啟手機(jī)業(yè)務(wù)的動(dòng)作,這次的糾紛恐怕又會(huì)是一場持久戰(zhàn)。
昔日手機(jī)巨頭變身“專利流氓”?
不只蘋果,在諾基亞的“專利大戰(zhàn)”中,市場上的知名手機(jī)品牌都曾敗于諾基亞手下。
2013 年,諾基亞與三星達(dá)成約束性仲裁協(xié)議。該協(xié)議將解決雙方從 2014 年開始的 5 年內(nèi)的專利補(bǔ)償費(fèi)用問題;2015 年,諾基亞以相似的方式與另一韓國手機(jī)巨頭 LG 達(dá)成協(xié)議,后者也將向諾基亞繳納高額的專利授權(quán)費(fèi)。
同樣的事情還發(fā)生在 HTC 身上。諾基亞曾在 2012 年起訴 HTC,稱其在全球范圍內(nèi)侵犯了自己多達(dá) 45 項(xiàng)專利。這起訴訟當(dāng)然也以 HTC 向諾基亞交錢告終。
盡管手機(jī)業(yè)務(wù)已成“明日黃花”,但一件接一件的專利授權(quán)案還是讓諾基亞賺得盆滿缽滿。
據(jù)統(tǒng)計(jì),諾基亞將在 2016 至 2018 年獲得與已和解或者正在仲裁專利案件的費(fèi)用,預(yù)計(jì)將至少達(dá)到 13 億歐元,包括蘋果、三星、HTC、微軟、黑莓、LG、索尼、摩托羅拉、華為等在內(nèi)的約 40 家公司都需要向諾基亞繳納專利授權(quán)費(fèi)。
(圖片來自:IBTimes UK)
但坐擁大量專利的諾基亞,還真是能讓這些巨頭“敢怒而不敢言”。
從上個(gè)世紀(jì) 80 年代開始,諾基亞就開始在手機(jī)和通信領(lǐng)域發(fā)力。根據(jù)國家知識產(chǎn)權(quán)局的統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù),早在 1987 年 3 月,諾基亞就已經(jīng)開始申請專利。截至 2014 年 11 月 26 日,諾基亞的檢索總量為 12121 件(條),諾基亞公布的發(fā)明數(shù)量為 3955 件,發(fā)明授權(quán)數(shù)為 3647 件,實(shí)用新型數(shù)為 33 件,外觀設(shè)計(jì)數(shù)為 1042 件。
更形象點(diǎn)來描述,諾基亞已獲得的專利授權(quán)數(shù)量是蘋果的 7 倍、HTC 的 8 倍,對比國內(nèi),是魅族的 910 倍。
盡管歷經(jīng)出售風(fēng)波,但諾基亞目前仍持有約 3 萬項(xiàng)專利,覆蓋 2G、3G、4G 等移動(dòng)通信技術(shù)領(lǐng)域,是當(dāng)之無愧的“手機(jī)專利大觸”。
因此對于手機(jī)硬件業(yè)務(wù)受挫的諾基亞來說,重新推出手機(jī)也許是一次具有野心的“情懷閃現(xiàn)”,但“吃老本”看上去要輕松得多。不過這個(gè)老本如今也吃不了多久了,畢竟專利再多,也是有保護(hù)期限的。
(圖片來自:Digital Trends)
中國政法大學(xué)知識產(chǎn)權(quán)法研究中心特約研究員李俊慧表示,在未來的幾年內(nèi),諾基亞至少有 400 多項(xiàng)與手機(jī)相關(guān)的發(fā)明專利會(huì)陸續(xù)失效,其中,2016 年有 94 項(xiàng),2017 年有 113 項(xiàng),2018 年有 149 項(xiàng)。預(yù)計(jì)最快 10 年,諾基亞手里的手機(jī)專利將會(huì)“一文不值”,屆時(shí),“專利流氓”可能就不能再用這個(gè)武器來“劫路”了。
諾基亞可能也意識到了這個(gè)問題,開始為即將到來的危機(jī)做準(zhǔn)備。
今年 1 月,諾基亞宣布與阿爾卡特-朗訊合并,寄希望于后者在網(wǎng)絡(luò)服務(wù)領(lǐng)域創(chuàng)收。但根據(jù)諾基亞公布的 2016 年第三季度財(cái)報(bào),公司第三季度營收 59.5 億歐元,同比下降 7%。其中網(wǎng)絡(luò)設(shè)備營收下降了 12% 至 53.2 億歐元。此外,幫助公司重組、把諾基亞從手機(jī)制造商轉(zhuǎn)型成為網(wǎng)絡(luò)設(shè)備公司的首席財(cái)務(wù)官 Timo Ihamuotila,也將離開諾基亞。
目前看起來,轉(zhuǎn)型也不算成功。今后的諾基亞,將何去何從?
附:“諾基亞再‘撕’蘋果,專利問題是個(gè)永遠(yuǎn)邁不過去的坎兒”英文新聞
Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent have launched a major legal attack on Apple, filing lawsuits in Germany and the US that accuse Apple of infringing 32 patents.
According to Nokia's statement, the patents cover technologies that include display, user interface, software, antenna, chipsets, and video coding. The US lawsuit includes 10 patents and was filed in federal court in East Texas, a venue that's long been favored by patent owners. Most of the patents originated at Nokia, but at least one originated at Lucent Technologies. Nokia agreed to buy Alcatel Lucent in 2015 and completed the deal last year.
The new lawsuit (PDF) appears to be a major revival of the patent battles Apple and Nokia fought between 2009 and 2011. Back then, the two companies were also engaged in litigation that spanned the globe. All that was put to rest with a settlement in 2011, which analysts estimated at the time may have been worth hundreds of millions of euros to Nokia. Despite those payments, Nokia said in a statement today that Apple refused to license "other of its patented inventions which are used by many of Apple's products."
Of course, that might be because Nokia didn't offer them as part of the 2011 settlement package. Some Nokia patents were distributed to so-called "patent trolls," also called patent assertion companies or PAEs. Those PAEs include Acacia Research Corp., a branch of which won a $22.1 million verdict against Apple in June.
"Nokia has created or contributed to many of the fundamental technologies used in today's mobile devices, including Apple products," said Nokia patent chief Ilkka Rahnastoin a statement. "After several years of negotiations trying to reach agreement to cover Apple's use of these patents, we are now taking action to defend our rights.
The Nokia lawsuit accuses every version of iPhone—from the iPhone 7 all the way back to the iPhone 3GS—of infringing Nokia patents. Also accused are iPad Pro and every version of iPad Air and iPad Mini, as well as the Apple Watch, Apple TV, and services like Find My iPhone and Find my iPad.
As one example, Nokia says that US Patent No. 6,701,294, which it acquired from Alcatel-Lucent, is infringed by Apple's Siri feature in iOS 10. "Apple's Siri acts as an intelligent personal assistant in conjunction with the user interface... of Apple mobile devices," the complaint states. The Siri-using products have a "translator unit," an "evaluator unit" and an "interrogator unit for querying said one or more prescribed databases," and a "supplier unit" to give information to the user. In Nokia's view, the Apple "supplier unit" consists of "the Siri program, including the Apple device, wireless connections, and backend servers."
Nokia's business has gone through dramatic ups and downs since its earlier dispute with Apple. Nokia sold its phone business to Microsoft in 2014. But Microsoft struggled and ultimately exited the smartphone sector anyway earlier this year, taking a final write-down on the $7.1 billion Nokia purchase and laying off up to 1,850 workers.
Earlier this month, Nokia announced plans to get back into the smartphone business with Android-powered phones that will be on the market next year.
Just yesterday, Apple filed an antitrust lawsuit (PDF) against Nokia in federal court in San Jose. In it, Apple accused the Finnish company of transferring "massive numbers of patents" to patent assertion companies like Acacia. Nokia reached a deal with "each of its PAE co-conspirators" to separately enforce a diffused patent portfolio, "to maximize the aggregate royalties that can be extracted from product companies," Apple lawyers allege. "Nokia and those PAEs have thereby increased market power and created or enhanced monopoly power associated with those patents."
Apple claims that Nokia's strategy of working with PAEs to stack up big royalty payments is a violation of US antitrust laws, as well as a breach of contract. The breach of contract claim says that Nokia violated its commitments to license certain standard-essential patents on a FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) basis.
中文新聞來源:愛范兒
英文新聞來源:Ars Technica
編輯:IPRdaily.cn 趙珍
校對:IPRdaily.cn 縱橫君
活動(dòng)推薦(點(diǎn)擊下面圖片,了解活動(dòng)詳情)
【檢索力對抗】首屆知識產(chǎn)權(quán)工具大比武,開戰(zhàn)在即!
本文來自愛范兒并經(jīng)IPRdaily.cn編輯。轉(zhuǎn)載此文章須經(jīng)權(quán)利人同意,并附上出處與作者信息。文章不代表IPRdaily.cn立場,如若轉(zhuǎn)載,請注明出處:“http://m.jupyterflow.com/”
文章不錯(cuò),犒勞下辛苦的作者吧