SECRET RIM patent cheque to Nokia revealed at last - and it's a big 'un

Hard-up BlackBerry biz vows to dole out more cash too

By Brid-Aine Parnell, 2nd January 2013

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RIM handed Nokia a first payment of €50m to put an end to the companies' patent disputes, and plans to pay ongoing royalty payments, the firm revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The Canadian BlackBerry-maker settled with one-time mobile leader Nokia just before Christmas, but both companies said they'd keep the details of the deal under wraps.

However, in the filing with the US securities watchdog, RIM admitted that the one-off payment was worth €50m (£40.6m, $66.4m), which the firm tuck away in its fiscal third quarter of 2013 results. By way of comparison, RIM's profit that quarter was $14m thanks to a tax break.

There's still no news from either company on how much RIM will be paying in royalties to the Finnish firm, but analysts have estimated that it could be forking out as much as $5 per phone.

Chief intellectual property officer at Nokia Paul Melin said the firm was "very pleased" with the agreement. ®

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