Nokia receives over $615 million in licensing fees from Apple?

Nokia's heartbreaking results yesterday might have toned down your expectations for the company, but a bit of sunshine broke through the clouds over Finland as now it's clear how much the company will get in licensing fees from Apple. Cupertino settled for an undisclosed amount in a patent lawsuit last month, and judging from Nokia's patent-related licensing earning for the quarter, the sum is $616 million (430 million euro).

It's not clear whether all of that comes from Apple, but it's likely that an overwhelming portion stems from Cupertino as there were no other huge settlements this quarter, while last trimester, for example, the Finns didn't file any earning in that category at all. Except for the one time lump sum, the California-based phone maker has agreed to pay royalties for some patents courtesy of Nokia.

Nokia has over 10,000 key wireless patents, some of which touch on the user interface and core features like multitasking, data syncing and positioning. With Symbian smartphone sales collapsing by 34 on the year to 16.7 million units, Nokia might well have to rely more on those royalties, at least until it rolls out the anticipated savior in the form of a Nokia Windows Phone at the end of the year.

source: Nokia (PDF)