Search
Nokia/Qualcomm patent case ends in 15-year pact

Nokia/Qualcomm patent case ends in 15-year pact

Tech giants Nokia and Qualcomm have overcome a long-running dispute over a range of communications standards by sealing a 15-year agreement on licensing and royalties. The move settles all outstanding litigation between the firms, and ends months of industry speculation over the battle's outcome.

Nokia and Qualcomm had struck IP deals before, in 1992 and 2001, but the terms of the latest deal are wider-ranging, addressing a range of fundamental technologies such as EDGE, GSM and CDMA. Nokia have agreed to pay Qualcomm an upfront fee for use of these technologies and others, and the two parties have reached an understanding on ongoing royalty payments.

Anticipation surrounding the case had been so high among industry observers that the Courtroom View Network offered to webcast the proceedings for a fee of $400. Many of the firms that signed up for the service were financial institutions, with hedge funds included in this group.

Nokia CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, said: 'We believe that this agreement is positive for the industry, enabling the market to benefit from innovation and new technologies. The positive financial impact of this agreement is within Nokia's original expectations and fully reflects our leading intellectual property and market positions.'

Qualcomm CEO, Dr Paul Jacobs, added: 'I'm very pleased that we have come to this important agreement. The terms of the new license, including the financial and other value provided to Qualcomm, reflect our strong intellectual property position across many current and future generation technologies.

'This agreement paves the way for enhanced opportunities between the companies in a number of areas.'

Add to RSS: add to rss

Add this page to:

User Comments

Post a comment