Wireless chipmaker Qualcomm today rejected the $20 million check that Nokia
Qualcomm said in a statement that the $20 million represents only “a fraction of the
royalty to which Nokia [previously] agreed.”
Qualcomm added that both the payment, and the terms upon which it said Nokia conditioned the payment, violate the terms of a 2001 agreement between the companies.
A cross-licensing agreement between the two companies expired on Monday and, while the companies have continued to negotiate, they have traded lawsuits and binding arbitration claims with increasing frequency over the last few weeks as the deadline approached and passed.
Nokia relies on intellectual property (IP)
developed by Qualcomm for some of the features available on its phones.
The Finnish cell phone maker also developed IP around advanced data and video transmission for
so-called third-generation cell phones, and claims that these developments
diminish the importance of the earlier IP developed by Qualcomm.
Qualcomm, for its part, maintains that Nokia should continue paying the same
royalty rates for its IP as long as the handset maker continues using it.
Qualcomm sued
But that suit came two weeks after Nokia attacked
Last week, Qualcomm asked an arbitrator to rule that Nokia, by continuing to use CDMA
IP as it had been prior to April 9.
Nokia spokesman Bill Plummer confirmed that the companies are continuing to negotiate an extension or renegotiation of that agreement in a conversation with internetnews.com yesterday. He said that companies often
negotiate past deadlines and reiterated that Nokia “remains committed to
meaningful and rational negotiations.”
Nokia in two different U.S. jurisdictions earlier this month, and Nokia
accused Qualcomm of engaging in “serial litigation.”
Qualcomm in European courts for double-dipping on royalties.
