Apple Commits to Royalty-Free Licenses If Its Nano-SIM Standard is Adopted

Apple is committing to grant royalty-free licenses if its nano-SIM standard is adopted by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, reports FOSS Patents.

A perfectly reliable source that I can't disclose has shown me a letter dated March 19, 2012 that a senior Apple lawyer sent to ETSI. The letter addresses the primary concern of critics of the proposal. The FT said that "the Apple-led proposal has caused some concern among its rivals that the US group might eventually own the patents". But Apple's letter has removed this roadblock, if it ever was any, through an unequivocal commitment to grant royalty-free licenses to any Apple patents essential to nano-SIM, provided that Apple's proposal is adopted as a standard and that all other patent holders accept the same terms in accordance with the principle of reciprocity.

Apple is facing off against Nokia, RIM, and Motorola over the proposed standard at the Smart Card Platform Plenary meeting later this week.


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