There's a considerably better article on it here: http://thisismynext.com/2011/06/14/nokia-and-apple-settle-patent-disputes-apple-to-pay-one-time-fee-and-ongoin

There's a considerably better article on it here: http://thisismynext.com/2011/06/14/nokia-and-apple-settle-patent-disputes-apple-to-pay-one-time-fee-and-ongoing-license-fees/ http://thisismynext.com/2011/06/14/nokia-and-apple-settle-pa... The short version: there are costs and risks involved in patent litigation and it's likely that it simply became more cost effective for one side or other to reach a compromise on licensing fees - which is what the lawsuit was about to start with. Alternative hypothesis suggested - Nokia's deal with Microsoft altered the patent landscape and made Nokia's patents available to Apple under better terms on account of the patent licensing deals that Apple and Microsoft have with each other already.