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

GNU/Linux is Replacing Microsoft Windows. But We Need to Eradicate Microsoft, It's a Hub of Crime.
I have been writing about Microsoft since the 1990s when I was in school
Microsoft Staff Harassing Women, Strangling Women, Telling Women to Kill Themselves and Worse? Not a Problem!
Two women have left Brett Wilson LLP
Microsoft Media Operatives and Bill Epsteingate-Funded Sites Said Microsoft Lays Off 9,000, But Other Sites Say More (Including 2,300 in Redmond Alone)
We might never know the real number/s (Microsoft will keep the cards close to its chest) until there are leakers or unless there are whistleblowers with hard proof
 
Links 03/07/2025: More Cuts and Cancellations at Microsoft Revealed
Links for the day
Gemini Links 03/07/2025: Favourite Child and Launching WikiGem
Links for the day
Mystery Surrounding the PCLinuxOS Sites and PCLinuxOS Magazine
Let's hope this isn't something major
People and Companies Do Learn Some Lessons From Their Mistakes (Stubborn Ones Don't)
Brett Wilson LLP is an example of one that would rather drown in mistakes
Links 03/07/2025: 'Hey Hi' Slop Ridiculed Some More and Microsoft's Layoffs Tally for 2025 Reaches About 29,000 in Just 6 Months (Almost 5,000 Per Month)
Links for the day
The Slopfarms Are Losing the Plot (and Google is Propping Up Rogue Sites)
Google is part of the attack on the Web, on information, and on technology
New BetaNews Realises There's No Potential or Future in Slopfarms, Prior Editor Wayne Williams is Back
They realise that slop (so-called "AI") cannot replace humans
Claims That Microsoft Looks for Staff That Works More and Gets Paid Less (or Can Only Code by Grabbing Other People's Code, Under the Guise of "AI")
People can form their own opinion
Richard Stallman Was Right About Reasons Not to Use Microsoft
last updated 2017
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, July 02, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, July 02, 2025
Gemini Links 03/07/2025: No to Cloudflare and Small Web July
Links for the day
Links 02/07/2025: Deep Microsoft Cuts, Macron Speaks to Putin
Links for the day
Confirmed: Microsoft Shutdowns Today, Not Only Mass Layoffs
"The Initiative is the only studio closure planned today, although some other teams have seen cuts of varying degrees."
Microsoft Windows Nosedives in Switzerland While GNU/Linux Leaps Above 6%
sooner or later they might have to make the move anyway
Anxiety at Microsoft: Many Workers (Maybe Over 10,000) Still Don't Know They're Being Laid Off Just Before US Independence Day
"Has anyone gotten the notification yet?"
Microsoft "Declined to Say How Many People Would be Laid Off," According to Associated Press
Some other prominent publications said they reached out for comment from Microsoft and received none
The X War is Over and the "Wayland People" Lost
People will gravitate towards what works for them
20 Years Since My Thesis
It's still online
GNU/Linux is Replacing Windows in Laptops/Desktops
The world will move on while Windows and Microsoft shrink
Now Comes the Expected Webspam, Framing Microsoft Layoffs as "Hey Hi" Success Story (False Marketing That's Piggybacking the Layoffs)
falsely marketed as "intelligence"
Hungary: Microsoft Windows Sinks to 17% "Market Share"
In many nations in Europe it seems like the era of Windows is coming to an end
Microsoft Layoffs in Spain, Portugal Record for GNU/Linux
in Portugal we see GNU/Linux at record levels
GNU/Linux Reaches All-Time High in the United States of America
Windows is trending down
Yes, Microsoft is Again Using Its Favourite Liars (Stenographers) to Seed Fake Layoff Numbers, Much Lower Than What's Really Happening
It is Jordan Novet again, just as we predicted
Will Microsoft Once Again Choose Its Favourite Liar to Spread Lies About Today's Layoffs, Quickly to be Replicated and Spread by Slopfarms?
What lies is Microsoft briefing its media moles to tell today?
"OSS Fetishism" Wins After Ferenc Zsolt Szabó Ousted (Microsoft Mole From Capgemini)
Many people said 2025 would be the "year of Linux on the desktop"
There is Nothing That LLMs Can Offer Honest People
LLMs are a passing fad; they're expensive and offer poor "value" for energy; they usually offer no value at all unless you are a cheater, spammer, and liar
What statCounter Shows Today Helps Explain Microsoft's Helplessness, Mass Layoffs
Since many US journalists are already away on holiday almost nobody will dare ask the difficult questions or give a voice to whistleblowers
Microsoft Gets the Chop in South America
The notion of digital sovereignty gained a lot of popularity
Europe Has an 'Exit'
Let's see what happens the rest of this year
El Presidente Talks, Canada Walks (Away From Windows)
GNU/Linux rising
Cities in France and Germany Move to GNU/Linux and statCounter Detects Big Differences
Will governments lead by example?
Microsoft Lost Its Foothold in Africa
How many of these are "old" Windows machines converted to GNU/Linux? Probably a lot.
Led by Europe, GNU/Linux Makes Big Gains This Month
statCounter started showing new/fresh stats
Links 02/07/2025: Massive Microsoft Layoffs About to Commence, "Tesla's Robotaxi Program Is Failing"
Links for the day
Why the Microsoft People Who Started SLAPPs Against Techrights Could Very Well be Sent Back to Prison
White-collar crime is also a crime
The Company Run by Former (and Last Proper) Red Hat CEO, Promoting Microsoft Mono, Faces Shock as Senior Partner Jailed for 33 Sexual Offenses Including Pedophilia
"As reported by The Oxford Mail in April 2025, the offenses include rape, sexual assault, engaging in non-penetrative activity with a child, and more."
Microsoft Lost 29% of Windows Users, Based on Microsoft, Now Come Massive Layoffs
Microsoft collapse is today
Slopwatch: Google Serves to People Linux Slop and Linux FUD (Made by Bots)
"Slopwatch" finds it difficult to ignore Google's role in encouraging LLM slop
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 01, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 01, 2025
"Wayland People" Behave Like the Googles and Microsofts of This World
Published yesterday by Igor Ljubuncic
Gemini Links 02/07/2025: Arch Linux and Fulfillment in Gemini
Links for the day
Links 01/07/2025: "Independence Day in Taiwan", Bounties on Software Patents
Links for the day
What Happens When Your Law Firm is Preoccupied With Harassing and Trying to Extort a Humble Couple in Manchester, Even on Behalf of Violent Microsoft Staff From Another Continent
It's good to see that law firms which operate in bad faith are perishing
Lawyer X, Law Firm X and Elon Musk's X: scandals linked by Old Xaverian
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Distraction-Free Writing and Hytale Mismanagement
Links for the day
Links 01/07/2025: "Beauty of Blogging" and "Etiquette of Collapse"
Links for the day
Microsoft Uses LLM Slop to Defraud (or Rob) Shareholders
Microsoft is basically defrauding its shareholders by LLM slop
The Web is a Dead End
We need to adopt alternatives
When Words Lose Their Intended Meaning
examples of words that, at least in the technical spheres, don't mean what they sound like
People Who Disagree With You on Technical Matters May or May Not Agree With You on Political Things (But Usually They Do)
What bothers me a great deal is seeing left-leaning people accusing other left-leaning people of being "nazis"
"Too Much Choice" and "Too Many Programming Languages"
What IBM and its apologists aim for was attempted in the 1930s and it failed
Microsoft Lost 400,000,000 Windows Users, According to Microsoft
more people adopt smaller computers and many people replace Windows with GNU/Linux, as they don't really need a new computer
The "Davos Effect": Tarnishing the Reputation of Places Not by Overtourism But by Oligarch Infestation
The last Venice needs is an affiliation with Venetian oligarchs
Half a Year Gone, What's to Come Next
In the second half of 2025 we expect to be done with the Microsoft SLAPPs
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 30, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 30, 2025
People at the Very Top of Microsoft Know How Bad Things Really Are
There's no product that can replace the former profitability of Windows licensing and stuff that went on top of Windows
Gemini Links 01/07/2025: Mid Year and a Tour of Old Languages
Links for the day