Back in April, LG received a one-time payment of patent licensing fees for about $600 million, but it didn’t say who the purchase was from. Now, The Elec reports that this fee was from two companies, and one of them was Apple.
The Elec says that LG and Apple “likely entered a long-term patent use agreement of up to ten years as is standard for large conglomerates.” The Elec’s source has yet to state which patents Apple agreed on.
The pair had signed a cross-licensing agreement over patents in the past but as LG exited its smartphone business this is no longer required.
The large profit LG gained for its latest agreement is from it no longer having to pay Apple in return as it no longer makes smartphones.
Reportedly, Nokia also had similar agreements since it left the phone business.
LG doesn’t make phones anymore, but LG Innotek and LG Display are still in business and provide parts for handsets. In fact, a report indicates that LG Display is making screens for Apple’s upcoming iPhone 14.
LG was also working on foldable phones before it shuttered its business. It’s possible that this was also included.
Source: 9to5Mac
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