BlackBerry condamné à verser 137 millions de dollars à Nokia

BlackBerry condamné à verser 137 millions de dollars à Nokia

BlackBerry has been ordered to pay Nokia 137 million dollars (115 million euros) by an international tribunal in settlement of a dispute, but the Canadian group has maintained its own patent infringement complaint.

The International Court of Arbitration ruled Friday that BlackBerry had failed to make certain payments to Nokia under a patent license agreement.

The dispute is not a matter of intellectual property but BlackBerry said it was pursuing its own complaint against Nokia for patent infringement. BlackBerry filed a complaint in February against the telecom network equipment maker for violating 11 of its patents on several base stations and their software. Nokia sells these facilities to operators.

"Nokia continues to believe that Nokia's patent infringement complaints are unfounded," the Finnish group said in a statement.

BlackBerry said it expects to write a provision to cover the extraordinary judgment expense, without specifying how long it would be in the accounts.

Nokia has indicated that a significant portion of the payment received in this trial has already been taken into account.

BlackBerry's monetization of intellectual property rights is a key component of Chief Executive Officer John Chen's strategy to turn the accounts of the Canadian group, whose revenues have been declining for the past six years due in part to falling sales of BlackBerry smartphones.

Nokia sold its phone manufacturing business in 2014, retaining only its network equipment business and a broad portfolio of licenses. The Finnish group has recently signed smartphone licensing agreements with Samsung Electronics, Apple, Xiaomi Technology and LG Electronics.

Around 17:05 GMT, BlackBerry shares lost 1.95% on the Toronto Stock Exchange and Nokia ended down 2% in Helsinki.