Nokia, Qualcomm sign new agreement

While the Finnish company Nokia is handset manufacturer, the US-based Qualcomm is a digital technology provider for wireless communications. Qualcomm had developed the CDMA technology for which it gets royalty from users across the world.

Under the terms of the new 15-year agreement, Nokia has been granted a license under all Qualcomm's patents for use in Nokia mobile devices and Nokia Siemens Networks infrastructure equipment, Qualcomm said in a release issued here today.

Further, Nokia has agreed not to use any of its patents directly against Qualcomm, enabling Qualcomm to integrate Nokia's technology into Qualcomm's chipsets. The financial structure of the settlement includes an up-front payment and on-going royalties payable to Qualcomm.

Nokia has agreed to assign ownership of a number of patents to Qualcomm, including patents declared as essential to WCDMA, GSM and OFDMA. The specific terms were not disclosed.

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

"I am pleased that we have come to this important agreement," said Paul E. Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm. "The terms of the new license agreement, 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."