Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Farce Which is Nokia's Patent Portfolio, a Ripoff of Other People's Ideas (and Patents)

Nokia ripoffSummary: The untold story about Nokia's alleged ripoff (plagiarism) of other people's patents, which are now being used aggressively in a shakedown campaign even against OEMs that distribute Linux

THE patents of Nokia have been weaponised by Microsoft against Microsoft's competition. We have been writing many articles about it since 2011 and recently we showed that Nokia is nowadays shaking down Android OEMs, too (we last covered this matter earlier this month). It's a serious problem because Nokia has a massive trove of patents and Android, which is built on top of Linux, is the world's leading mobile platform (by far). It's also one of the biggest success stories of Linux.



The other day, Android Headlines published this piece about a software patents case which had culminated in a motion for embargo. Here is the part about Nokia:

In addition to Qualcomm, Apple is also in legal battle with Nokia after the Finnish company sued the tech giant last year for allegedly infringing on its patents for displays, video coding, antennas, software, user interface, and chipsets.


For a number of months we have been speaking to people who know Nokia from the inside. There's a dispute going on and this dispute has just gone public. It serves to show that Nokia hardly deserves the credit it claims for innovation, or at least for patents which Nokia conveniently conflates with innovation.

"It serves to show that Nokia hardly deserves the credit it claims for innovation, or at least for patents which Nokia conveniently conflates with innovation.""You seem to be interested in EPO/USPTO patent issues," we got told, "and we have been following those interesting things that your tweets periodically reveal about EPO and patent practices in general, so thus we are letting you to know about our case."

We don't want to name the company although Nokia, which is well aware of this dispute, already knows who that involves. We'll refer to the person as "Y" and omit any mention of the company. The core story is this:



We found out two years ago with "Y" that his patent was copied by Nokia in the beginning of 2000’s. Today is an important day because it changes a huge chapter (I would say for the better) in our life. We are making this case public now.

"Y", besides living as a foreigner in Finland, loves the country like his second birthplace, he loves the Finnish people, nature and culture, especially the honesty that is highly valued in Finland. Exactly because of this honesty, he could never have imagined that Nokia had literally copied one of his patents.

Of course, this has already been thrown into international hurricane (e.g. Bloomberg, CNET, BBC, CNN, YLE, HS, etc. are already following and aware of the initial data of this case).

This is a campaign to help other inventors too, so kindly help this to be informed to other inventors and patent creators in triplicating their care when negotiating, submitting patents to large companies. "Y" actually did everything by the book, only revealing info when his patent was already published, and then negotiating a license with Nokia but still they didn’t follow the fair practices.

Surprisingly, during these last two years "Y" got into direct contact with Risto Siilasmaa (the chairman of the board of Nokia) and Rajeev Suri (CEO of Nokia), top management and auditors of the company's current Corporate Code of Conduct. Essentially and factually, they didn't act in this disgraceful matter as they advertise, although they are direct responsibilities for not fixing the damages their actions were apt to cause. People in Finland sadly know that besides bringing tax money to the country years ago, the “old” Nokia didn't always respect their subcontractors and other partners. Mr. Siilasmaa has admitted it too (he was earlier subcontracted by Nokia with his own company) and he has campaigned for fixing the culture, talking about the "New Nokia" but this case still follows exactly the same paths as the ones in “Old Nokia". Are they just talking about values of acting ethically but not really doing it?


There are many other disgruntled/exploited people out there whom the Nokia management (and/or board) has betrayed and mistreated. Thankfully, more of them are nowadays getting the courage and coming out (for whatever reason, maybe Nokia's patent aggression). Some of them got in touch with us, but they are not yet prepared to take their stories public. Some of them are GNU/Linux advocates and promoters/proponents of Maemo/MeeGo. They'll never forget what Microsoft did to Nokia. Never.

"There are many other disgruntled/exploited people out there whom the Nokia management (and/or board) has betrayed and mistreated."What does the EPO have to do with it? Actually, it is very much relevant to the above. "EPO is denying to give their examiner report analysis or anything related to the process," we were told, or "why they have accepted the patent of Nokia. They say only Nokia can get those infos."

The video regarding this patent is now public and can be seen below (mind the illustrations, which are direct copies).



We spoke to one of our members who is from Finland about the situation. That was a while back. When one lives in Finland, especially around Helsinki, speaking to Nokians, ex-Nokians, or (sub)contractor is pretty much inevitable and one can learn a lot from them (off the record). "I think there will be a lot of useful information depending on who you can talk with," our member said. "I spoke with a few from Nokia and could not get much info out of them, but did find that they were really worried about a high level mole from Microsoft entering the company. In retrospect that was Elop."

“I spoke with a few from Nokia and could not get much info out of them, but did find that they were really worried about a high level mole from Microsoft entering the company. In retrospect that was Elop.”
      --Anonymous
So our member learned this months before it actually happened.

"A lot of the damage was done after Elop, in the media," our member explained. "In Finland some Microsoft apologists got together and wrote a revisionist history book that got accepted as fact, thus ending any investigations and pre-empting the possibility into criminal investigations into the Nokia board."

"We expect Nokia to shake down many more Android OEMs in the months or years to come."As we have written many dozens of articles since then, the actual history is still documented, albeit not in mainstream Finnish media. The revisionism typically strives to blame Nokia and make its demise look inevitable, with Microsoft as the party attempting to 'rescue' Nokia. That's pretty similar to Netscape revisionism; the cause of the demise is being framed as benevolent, as in "Nokia crashed in spite of Microsoft, not because of Microsoft."

Either way, Nokia is still a pawn of Microsoft, especially in the patents sense. We expect Nokia to shake down many more Android OEMs in the months or years to come. But how legitimate are all these patents? How many of these are ripoffs like the above?

Recent Techrights' Posts

Using SLAPPs to Cover Up Sexual Abuse and Strangulation
The exact same legal team of the Serial Strangler from Microsoft and Garrett already has a history fighting against "metoo"
Adding the Voice of Writers to UK SLAPP Reform
The journey to repair antiquated (monarchy era) laws will likely be long
Slopwatch: A Cause for Hope, the Hype is Dying
For about a month we showed that becoming a slopfarm - for several weeks - resulted in utter failure and ruin for BetaNews
 
Links 12/07/2025: Jail in China for Homoerotica, South Korea Discriminates Against Old Workers
Links for the day
If Only Everything Was Rewritten in Rust, We'd Have No More Security Issues?
Nope.
Links 12/07/2025: Birdwatching and Fake/Misleading Wall Street 'Valuation' Figures
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/07/2025: How to Avoid Writing, Apps for Android
Links for the day
EPO Staff Committee on Harassment in the Workplace
slides
EPO Takes More Money From Staff for Speculation (Pensions), Actuarial Study Explains the Impact
"The key change in this year’s Actuarial Study, due to cascading the new “risk appetite” from the financial study, is a significant increase of the total pension contribution rate of 5.7 percentage points, up to a total of 37.8%. This is driven by an unprecedented decrease in the discount rate of 105 bps down to 2.2%."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 11, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 11, 2025
Microsoft - Like IBM - Does the "Relocation" Tricks (Start Over Elsewhere, Then Get Sacked by Microsoft)
It is a "low blow" or a "dick move"
After the Free Software Foundation's Campaign to Raise Money Let's See Campaigns to Finish Off Microsoft (Vista 11, GitHub etc.)
Microsoft is in effect collapsing
Your Publications Have No Major Impact Unless or Until You "Get Some Heat"
we're on the right track
Links 11/07/2025: Censorship Worsening, 3D Printing Success Stories, UK and France Unite Around Nukes
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/07/2025: Zorin OS and Scriptonite Updates
Links for the day
Links 11/07/2025: Hardware, Russia, and China
Links for the day
Links 11/07/2025: Intel Collapsing and Microsoft Resorts to Bribery to Push Slop Via Obligatory Education
Links for the day
The EFF Sided With the Team That Strangles Women and Tells Women to Kill Themselves
They say that apathy and inaction are a form of a "stance"
"Nat [Friedman] and [the Serial Strangler From Microsoft] Were Always Exceptionally Close," Says Former Housemate and Colleague
Now Alex (hiding behind another name when that suits him) not only attacks women but also people who merely report what he did to women
Exemplary List of Things That Are Not Artificial Intelligence or Even Intelligence
The "age of AI" or "era of AI" or "AI revolution" mostly boils down to rebranding, just like "the cloud"
New Letter From the European Patent Office Explains How the Office Plots to Grant Many Illegal Patents, a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of 'Growth'
Open letter to Mr Rowan (VP1) and Mr Aledo Lopez (COO)
Abuse of Process
5RB is employing people who help violent men
What Microsoft's Nat Friedman and Microsoft Lunduke Have in Common
"Get in da car; No time to explain, loser"
Microsoft and IBM Don't Have Much of a Future (They Mostly Pretend at This Point)
IBM and Microsoft are in some ways alike but in many ways different
It's Not Just Twitter (or X.com) That's Dying, Microsoft's Equivalent is Dying Also
Unable to find a business model
GitHub Copilot Can Cause the Bankruptcy of GitHub to Come Sooner and GitHub to be Shut Down Just Like Skype
Some publicly available information suggests that even for each paid subscriber for plagiarism (LLM 'coding') GitHub Copilot still loses more money than it makes
Wayland is Bad for the Planet
If you use Wayland, it'll take you longer to accomplish tasks and you will consume more energy (or battery life)
Legitimising Those Who Sabotage You
Microsoft is a very malicious company
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 10, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, July 10, 2025
On Microsoft Layoffs
we might be looking at about 60,000 Microsoft layoffs since 2023
EPO Management Already Breaks Its Own Promise (Lie) on "Bringing Teams Together"
This gut-punching move happened just 2 days ago
Gemini Links 11/07/2025: Occupation of 2025 and "Old Man Yells At Soundcloud"
Links for the day
Our Lawsuits Against the 'Cancel Mob' (Ringleaders) Helped Reduce Anti-Free Software Online Abuse
That's not to say that lawsuits are the best way to handle terrible people. But that can help.
Tomorrow is the Last Day of the Fund-Raising Campaign of the Free Software Foundation (FSF)
They will probably extend the date, as usual
Fixing Patents in Europe, Little by Little (by Transparency and Reporting of Suppressed Facts)
Tomorrow and throughout the weekend we shall focus some more on the EPO
The Two Lies Microsoft is Telling in "the News" This Week (to Distract From Layoffs and Decreased Interest in Slop/Chaff)
Microsoft is run by liars and frauds who SLAPP critics
Tux Machines Already Destroyed SLAPPs
Attacks on the mere publication of GNU/Linux news won't be tolerated
PCLinuxOS is Available for Download Again
PCLinuxOS is important to us also because its founder, back then the partner of Susan, helped create Tux Machines more than 21 years ago
Links 10/07/2025: Microsoft E-mail 'Services' Collapse Again, "Yet Another Strava Privacy Leak"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/07/2025: Automating Git Repo Updates and Small Web 'Zine'
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Leftovers
mostly Linux stuff
Audiocasts/Shows: Going Linux, FLOSS Weekly, and RHEL Clones
3 new picks
We Are Already Fighting - With Considerable Success - SLAPPs in the UK
we intend to tell the full story
Bullies With Pens and Papers (or Apple Macs With Templates)
Not all barristers are evil, but there are perhaps "rotten apples"
Slopwatch: webpronews.com, linuxsecurity.com, linuxjournal.com
a pile of trash disguised as 'articles'
Links 10/07/2025: Linda Yaccarino Divorces MElonazi Site, Wildfires Hit Syria
Links for the day
The History and the Policy of the EPO's Stance on Breastfeeding (Corporate Monopolies Versus Babies' Health)
"The Case for Introducing a Breastfeeding Policy at the EPO"
Gemini Links 10/07/2025: Inventing Chords and "Nightmare Boss"
Links for the day
Igor Ljubuncic Once Again Shows That for Technical Reasons Wayland Still Sucks, Performs Considerably Worse Than What Existed for Decades
That is aside from compatibility factors and other crucial factors
Links 10/07/2025: "Apple Vs The Law" and Twitter Became Full Nazi Bar
Links for the day
Unable to Find Anyone to Work as Their Media Lawyer, Brett Wilson LLP Will Continue Losing Female Staff
What sort of sick person would wish to join Brett Wilson LLP to carry this baton?
Microsoft-Sponsored Propaganda Site Has Removed False 'Hit Piece' About Dr. Stallman (With Fake and Misrepresented Imagery) But Only After 4 Years
So they only removed that page some time around 2025, i.e. about 4 years after it had been published
Always Check Your Inputs
Garbage in, garbage out. Or wrong assumptions, wrong corollary.
Dan Neidle Said That Tax Evasion Facilitator Mr Zahawi (Working to Silence Bloggers Through Brett Wilson LLP) Targeted Not Only Him (But The Others Kept Quiet)
"Mr Neidle said after repelling Mr Zahawi he was contacted by bloggers and tweeters who had received similar threats. They deleted their work “and in most cases never commented publicly on anything again”."
SLAPP Funding Transparency Urgently Needed in the UK and Elsewhere (in Practice, Not Just in Theory)
Writing about crime - including Microsoft crime - is not a crime
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 09, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 09, 2025
Elodie Bergot Still Doing Illegal Things at the EPO, Based on the Local Staff Committee Munich
They keep taking away from the staff while compelling the staff to do illegal things