Nokia Mobile

Qualcomm, Nokia reach new patent agreement, end years of bitter disputes

Lynnette Luna — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:30:21 -0400

The many bitter patent disputes between Qualcomm and Nokia have finally ended. The two telecom giants announced they have entered into a new 15-year patent agreement that effectively settles all litigation between the companies, including the withdrawal by Nokia of its complaint to the European Commission and numerous lawsuits filed in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Nokia filed a complaint with the EC in October 2005 with five other companies, which led to a flurry of lawsuits between Qualcomm and its rivals and several regulatory probes into Qualcomm's licensing practices. The two were also miles apart for some time when it came to renegotiating a new license agreement that expired in April 2007.

The new deal comes on the day Qualcomm and Nokia were to appear in a Delaware court to begin a key trial over WCDMA patents, but the judge had delayed the trial by a day. Nokia claimed Qualcomm charges too much for the patents. Nokia now has been granted a license under all of Qualcomm's patents for use in Nokia mobile devices and Nokia Siemens Networks infrastructure equipment. The agreement covers a number of technology standards, including GSM, EDGE, CDMA, WCDMA, HSDPA, OFDM, WiMAX, LTE and others. Nokia also 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, however, are confidential.

Qualcomm investors breathed a sigh of relief, pushing the company's shares up 18.7 percent in after-hours trading.

Qualcomm delayed the release of its fiscal third-quarter results for several hours to announce the agreement with Nokia. The company's profits fell 6 percent to $748 million, or 45 cents a share, for the three months ended June 29, down from $798 million, or 47 cents a share, the previous year. Revenue grew 19 percent to $2.76 billion from $2.33 billion.

For more:
- read AP
- see this release

Related stories:
Nokia gains patent victory over Qualcomm in Germany. Nokia patent story
Nokia, Qualcomm head to court this week over CDMA patents. Nokia/Qualcomm story
Qualcomm-Nokia lawsuits continue to fly. Lawsuit story
Nokia sues Qualcomm in Europe. Nokia-Qualcomm story

Nokia: ROI from Internet initiatives won't come for two more years

Lynnette Luna — Tue, 20 May 2008 12:05:37 -0400

The world's leading handset maker Nokia said it doesn't anticipate seeing any returns on its investment in wireless Internet services until 2010. Nokia has invested a significant amount of money into services that include music and video to gain a competitive advantage over rivals and to sell services outside of the operator walled garden. But a return on investment won't come for two more years.

"We're going to continue to invest at that rate or more as we are in investment mode in 2008 and 2009. We look for 2010 to start to see where you go from investment mode... to getting more out than you're putting in," said Chief Financial Officer Rick Simonson during a telecoms conference in New York.

Nokia also addressed its sagging market share in the North American handset market, which dropped 9 percent at the end of 2007. Nokia said to look for some custom-designed phones for U.S. operators. And in line with the studies that show high-end phone sales are growing, Nokia reported that such devices are growing faster than its overall phone unit sales.

To find out more on Nokia's revelations about its handset business:
- read this article in InformationWeek

ALSO NOTED: Nokia to enhance MyFaves; ROK buys Jalipo; and much more...

Tue, 06 May 2008 06:59:50 -0400

> How Nokia's deal with T-Mobile will shape the future of MyFaves.

> Nokia releases Snap Mobile SDK 2.0.

> ROK Entertainment buys Jalipo.

And Finally... The Houston Zoo had to bring in the FBI after a text prank jammed its switchboard with thousands of calls per day. Callers were instructed via SMS spam to call the zoo and ask to speak to "Mr. G. Raff" and other animal-themed names. Article

ALSO NOTED: Measuring mobile marketing; Virgin inks a deal with Limbo; and much more...

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 06:59:50 -0400

> Forecast: Full-track mobile revenues to hit $4.2 billion by 2012. Article

> How should we measure mobile marketing? Article

> Virgin Mobile USA inks a deal with Limbo for SMS blasts about interactive programming. Article

> Garmin adds mobile TV service to its GPS device. Article

And Finally... Shortly after formally launching its N-Gage platform, Nokia launched a worldwide Mobile Games Innovations Challenge. Article

ALSO NOTED: Boost's mobile ad platform; Sprint's new mobile Web; and much more...

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:59:50 -0400

> Sprint upgrades mobile web browsing. Article

> Boost launches mobile ad platform. Article

> Nokia premiers the mobile film making awards. Article

And Finally... Intel stretches WiFi signal 60 miles. Article

Nokia to buy Navteq for $8.1B

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Nokia announced its acquisition of navigation software developer Navteq for $8.1 billion. Nokia will pay $78 in cash for each Navteq share, including outstanding options--the acquisition has been approved by the board of directors of each firm. Navteq's digital map services span 69 countries across six continents--in 2005, the firm teamed with Nokia to create mobile search solutions for the handset giant's smartphone range. In addition to Nokia, Navteq's corporate partners include automakers like Chrysler, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen.

The Navteq negotiations represent Nokia's latest move into the mobile services market--in early September, the company Nokia introduced Ovi, a new Internet services brand developed to expand its focus beyond mobile devices and platforms to embrace a range of web services. Ovi--"door" in Nokia's native Finnish--promises to enable consumer access to social networks, communities and content as well as provide a gateway to Nokia services. Its Nokia Maps navigation service also falls under the Ovi aegis.

"Location-based services are one of the cornerstones of Nokia's Internet services strategy. The acquisition of Navteq is another step toward Nokia becoming a leading player in this space," said Nokia president and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo in a prepared statement. "By joining forces with Navteq, we will be able to bring context and geographical information to a number of our Internet services with accelerated time to market. We also look forward to maintaining and enhancing the services and support provided to Navteq's existing and future customers."

For more on the Nokia/Navteq deal:
- read this release

Related articles:
Nokia purchases Enpocket
Nokia to launch music download service
Nokia enters the Mosh pit
Nokia, Streamezzo team for MyNseriesÃ‚Â
LBS helps you find your way