Nokia Mobile filing antitrust complaint against VoiceAgeEVS in EU
Nokia Mobile fought VoiceAgeEVS LLC in courts around the world for fair use of VoLTE patents in Nokia phones. The fight was unsuccessful in EU courts, resulting in Nokia devices being briefly removed from the EU market. The issue was later resolved by removing VoLTE until the two companies find a solution.
According to the latest complaint filed with EU antitrust authorities, HMD Global and VoiceAge EVS have not found common terms. HMD Global has already stated that VoiceAge EVS’s patent practices and licensing fees are not fair and will try to prove it. The dispute between the two companies has now spread to the United States and Brazil in addition to the EU
HMD claims that because VoiceAge EVS does not comply with FRAND requirements and conduct (Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory terms for patents essential to a technical standard) and that the practices harm their products and their users.
I do not use VoLTE because my lousy provider does not support it, but this service may be beneficial for call quality. Anyway, since 5G is more likely to be used on low-end phones, VoLTE is important for feature phones. HMD Global is the second-largest manufacturer of these devices, and a fair price for VoLTE patents is crucial for the company.
Judging by the quickness of EU bureaucracy, this issue could be ended in a few months. Until then, Nokia phones probably still won’t not using VoLTE.
Thanks SirFaceFone for the tip 😉
