Samsung and Nokia have agreed to extend their patent agreement for another 5 years, granting the Korean tech giant access to Nokia phone patents until 2019. Samsung will pay additional compensation for patent use for the period starting January 1, 2014 (which is when the previous agreement was scheduled to end).
The exact amount of compensation is expected to be settled in a separate binding arbitration scheduled for 2015. Nokia expects the arbitration to save significant transaction costs related to licensing disputes between the two companies.
The patent extension sheds some light on Nokia's plans after the Microsoft acquisition, namely that the company will continue to make money on smartphones by "actively managing its patent portfolio and licensing activities," which are not part of the Microsoft deal.
