RIM To Pay Nokia $65m In First Patent Settlement

RIM will pay Nokia around $65m in a one-off patent royalty payment, newly filed SEC paperwork confirms, though subsequent payments could amount to nearly enough if analyst predictions bear out. The deal to settle ongoing litigation between the companies was announced last week, though at the time neither would say how much the "one-time payment and on-going payments" would involve. A new Securities and Exchange Commission 6-K filing, however, spills the beans on the actual amount.

"The financial structure of the agreement includes a lump sum €50 million (approximately $65 million) one-time payment," RIM reveals in the document, "which has been recorded in the Company's consolidated statement of operations in the third quarter of fiscal 2013."

What isn't confirmed is how much the on-going fees will be for RIM to use Nokia's WLAN networking technology. However, there are suggestions by some industry watchers that the two firms have settled on a figure in the $2-$5 per device range.

That could mean RIM's annual payout will near this one-time fee, though it obviously depends on the success of BlackBerry 10 and the ongoing performance of the company. The likelihood of that won't be known until early in the new year, when the first smartphones running the new OS will be released.

Nokia's legal success had initially been limited to the Swedish courts, though the case was seen as a landmark ruling which would likely be followed by similar decisions in other jurisdictions.

[via AllThingsD]