Nokia to appeal Chinese court’s ‘global’ 5G ruling

A Chinese court has ruled in favor of Oppo in its 5G patent dispute with Nokia – but the decision appears to have opened yet another fissure between the Chinese and non-Chinese tech worlds.

Nokia has said it will appeal the decision, which it claims is based almost entirely on Oppo submissions, does not address Nokia’s concerns and ignores multiple rulings against Oppo by non-Chinese courts.

Nokia also rejects the court assertion that the decision applies to 5G patents worldwide, arguing that it applies to the Chinese market only. In the November 28 ruling, published last week, the Chongqing First Intermediate Court set global licensing fees for 5G patents of between 4.341% and 5.273%.

As reported by Chinese financial news site Caixin Global: “Chongqing First Intermediate People’s Court accepted Oppo’s calculations to set the aggregated royalty rates charged for using Nokia’s 5G standard essential patents (SEPs) in the mobile phone industry.”

In an emailed statement, Nokia said the judgment showed that Oppo “has an obligation to pay Nokia and that Oppo needs to make payments for the whole unlicensed period.”

Oppo in breach of commitments

Nokia said the court decision’s impact “is limited to the Chinese jurisdiction only and as such represents only one view. Courts outside of China have confirmed that Oppo is in breach of its commitments as a user of Nokia’s technology in open standards.”

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