Just as HMD announced it will no longer use the Nokia branding on its smartphones, another brand is bouncing back in action and coincidentally it’s courtesy of Nokia. The brand we are talking about is OnePlus. 18 months ago, OnePlus had left the Germany’s smartphone market due to a legal dispute with Nokia due to a global 5G patent cross-licensing deal.
Nokia and OnePlus sister firm Oppo have now reached an agreement which has allowed OnePlus to resume operations in Germany. They marked their return by bringing six smartphone models to the world’s fourth-largest economy, including the foldable OnePlus Open, according to the firm’s German website. OnePlus also started pre-orders for its latest OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 12R handsets. Weirdly, while OnePlus resumes smartphone sales in Germany, Oppo has yet to reopen for business in the market. Its official German website still showed “no product information available”.
When the legal battle was going on, OnePlus only offered a limited number of accessories, such as wireless earbuds, for purchase on its German website since they don’t have the 5G technology covered by the dispute.
With the deal now signed, Oppo will pay royalties owed to Nokia for the use of its patents based on the agreed rates and settlement arrangements. The specific terms of their agreement remain confidential. However, it is reported that it covers standard-essential patents in 5G and other cellular communication technologies.
