Essay About 2480Nokia And Mobile Phones

Nokia – Challenges with Open Innovation
Stephanie Lacroix,  H1450088E&I Zone: Challenges with Open Innovation, November 2014Word Count: 2480Nokia:Spin-outs, divesture, outbound innovationIntroductionCompanies can commercialize their knowledge and innovation by licensing or selling their intellectual property rights (IPR). In the USA the total royalty income of industry from licensing is around US$100bn per year. The intellectual property (knowledge and experiences) that is shared by licensing agreements can involve patents, trademarks and copyrights or non-statutory rights, i.e. trade secrets and know-how. This paper will focus on the business of selling license agreements for patents from Nokia. Nokia has been the world leader in mobile phones, but as this position has weakened it is now redesigning its businesses. The paper will start with a short introduction on Nokia. The next chapter will discuss licensing agreements and patents and will end with an overview of Nokia’s recent licensing deals. In the fourth chapter advantages and disadvantages of this strategy will be discussed and the paper will end with some recommendations for Nokia, that wants to expand its  IP licensing program further. About the CompanyNokia is the largest manufacturer of mobiles phones  in the world, serving more than 130 countries. Nokia operates 15 manufacturing facilities in nine countries and it has R&D facilities located in 12 countries. Originally, the company was founded in Finland in 1865, starting as a manufacturer of pulp and paper. Nokia first entered the telecommunications equipment market in 1960. In 1982 it introduced its first fully-digital local telephone exchange in Europe. After this introduction it further developed the GSM network in Europe and in 1991 the first GSM call was made on a Nokia phone in Finland.The same year the company won contracts to supply GSM networks in other European countries. Telecommunications became the company’s core business with the goal of establishing leadership in every major global market. By 1998, Nokia was the world leader in mobile phones. It enjoyed this position for more than a decade.Next to its mobile phone technologies, Nokia also invested in mapping capabilities. After acquiring several mapping software, it launched its own location services called HERE in 2012.In 2011, Nokia joined forces with Microsoft to strengthen its position in the highly competitive smartphone market. The company adopted the Windows Phone operating system for smart devices. By this partnership Nokia and Microsoft developed an alternative system to compete with rival IOS and Android. In 2013, Nokia announced to sell all its Devices & Service businesses to Microsoft. After this transaction, the company announced its new vision and strategy, building on its three strong businesses; Nokia Networks, HERE and Nokia Technologies.