Despite a commercial future that depends on working with each other, the relationship between intellectual property firm and chipset vendor Qualcomm and handset maker Nokia has been fractious at best during recent years.
Here's how the pair have battled it out.
- September 2007: The ITC trial against Nokia commences.
- August 2007: Nokia asks the International Trade Commission (ITC) to block imports of some Qualcomm chipsets to the US, alleging they infringe its patents.
- June 2007: Nokia asks a court in Texas to prevent Qualcomm's "unauthorised" use of BREW and MediaFLO implementation patents.
- April 2007: Nokia pays Qualcomm US$20 million for use of the disputed UMTS payments during the second quarter of the year, and says it will make further payments as appropriate. Qualcomm rejects the offer, saying it is only a fraction of what Nokia had previously agreed to pay.
- April 2007: Qualcomm files a demand with the American Arbitration Association requesting a ruling that Nokia's continued use of patents which expired in April constitutes an agreement by Nokia to stick to the previously agreed royalty rate.
- April 2007: Qualcomm opens suits against Nokia in Wisconsin and Texas, accusing the phone maker of infringing patents relating to downloading content over a GSM or EDGE network. Nokia files patent counter assertions in the same court against Qualcomm for its alleged infringement of six Nokia implementation patents on Qualcomm chipsets.
- March 2007: The litigation spreads to Germany and the Netherlands when Nokia files a patent exhaustion case against Qualcomm in both countries, asking the country's courts to declare that Qualcomm's European patents are exhausted in respect to products placed on the EU market with a Qualcomm licence.
- February 2007: The judge presiding over the investigation decides to halt the action Qualcomm has initiated against Nokia with the US International Trade Commission
- August 2006: Nokia asks a Delaware court to "order Qualcomm to ... license intellectual property essential to GSM and UMTS technology standards on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms."
- June 2006: Qualcomm says Nokia is engaging in unfair trade practices by importing and selling phones which it alleges infringe six of its GSM patents and asks the ITC to ban Nokia from importing the devices to the US.
- May 2006: Qualcomm files a patent suit in the UK, saying Nokia has refused to negotiate over renewing GSM and EDGE patents set to expire in April 2007.
- November 2005: Qualcomm files a suit against Nokia accusing the handset maker of infringing 11 patents relating to the GSM and EDGE mobile standards.
- November 2005: Nokia and five other mobile manufacturers called on the EC to investigate Qualcomm, claiming the company is behaving anti-competitively and using its patents on 3G to shut out rivals from the market.
