European Manufacturers Agree on LTE Patent License Rates

Nokia has announced in a press release the intention to streamline the process for LTE standards patent licensing by building a simplified framework of aggregate fees and costs for the eventual licensing of patents and property related to the LTE standard between equipment manufacturers.

Other wireless equipment manufacturers have also joined Nokia in the effort and include Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, NEC, NextWave Wireless, Nokia-Siemens Networks and Sony Ericsson.

The intention of this effort is to simplify royalty rates between manufacturers in the event that one manufacturer adds value to the underlying technology while using base technology from another vendor, and is intended to be an extension of fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing terms for essential patents.

Through the creation of this economic framework, it is also believed that it will drive the growth of LTE as a future standard in terms of early and future adoption by carriers.  It is also understood that this framework will also hinder any disputes regarding patents.

The rates for mobile phones and other devices have been set in the single digit range of total sales percentage, while devices such as aircards and internal modems have a fixed single-digit amount set in dollars.