Nokia, Qualcomm settle patent battle
Published: 24 Jul 2008 08:55 BST
Nokia, the world's number-one maker of mobile phones, and chipmaker Qualcomm announced on Wednesday that they had entered into a new licensing agreement that settled all patent litigation between the two companies.
Financial terms of the agreement were not released, but the companies said Nokia will pay royalties to Qualcomm for 15 years to license technology that improves performance and battery life, while reducing the size of products. Nokia said it will also withdraw its antitrust complaint against Qualcomm filed with the European Commission.
"We believe that this agreement is positive for the industry, enabling the market to benefit from innovation and new technologies," Nokia chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said in a statement.
Shares of Qualcomm rose 18 percent, or $8.38 (£4.20), to $53.20 in after-hours trading.
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The companies have been locked in a bitter court battle since April 2007, when negotiations over the renewal of key patents broke down. The pair had sued and countersued each other in various countries across the world but had been unable to find a resolution to the spat over the patents.
The agreement was announced after a Delaware Chancery Court judge delayed the opening of a trial on patent commitments and fees.
Qualcomm delayed the release of its fiscal third-quarter results for several hours to first announce the agreement with the Finnish phone maker. It reported that profits fell six percent to $748m, or 45 cents a share, during the three-month period ended 29 June, down from $798m, or 47 cents a share, in the same period last year. Revenue grew 19 percent to $2.76bn from $2.33bn.
Credit: Nokia, Qualcomm settle patent dispute from CNET News
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