The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is curious about the details of Apple’s settlement with Nokia regarding patent infringement, and officially asked Apple to supply financial documents relating to the settlement.
Nokia had been suing Apple since October 2009, eventually accusing the iPhone maker of infringing on 46 patents and demanding royalties from all iPhone sales. In June of this year, the two companies settled, a settlement that included a one-time payment for royalties. At that time, details of the settlement were deemed confidential by Nokia.
Today, Bloomberg reports that the SEC has asked for details of the settlement. They sent a letter to Apple’s Chief Financial Officer, Peter Oppenheimer, on June 28 asking for “amounts accrued, the periods in which they were recognized and the timeline of negotiations.” Apple responded on July 12 and said that “no aspects of the company’s discussions with Nokia were material to the company’s consolidated financial statements.”
This information was released today as the SEC made a regulatory filing. Nokia declined to comment, and Apple didn’t return calls seeking comments. As with all things legal, this will take time to play out.