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To: quartersawyer who wrote (146668)11/29/2006 8:36:48 AM
From: slacker711  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 152472
 
GSM vs. CDMA IPR-- some seem to actually consider a suicide pact as the result of negotiations. "Arrogance" and "hubris" are tossed around all the time, but "stupid" they're not. These parts of the dispute have to be and will be hashed out and weighed and settled. There doesn't seem to be anything that either side has that far outweighs the other.

Do you see anything far beyond status quo in April?


There will definitely be a settlement....and IMO the most likely outcome is a small downward move from the current rate (or some sort of royalty payment by Q on chips). The key question is one of timing. Since Nokia has an option to renew their current license until the end of '08, there is zero incentive for them to settle unless one of these GPRS/EDGE patent suits is coming to a decision (and they see a possibility of losing) or maybe sometime in the middle of '08 when the WCDMA suits start coming to trial.

Playing for time makes sense from a Nokia perspective. In the interim, perhaps the EU starts making noises on some of the terms of Q's agreements, or maybe Nokia wins the FRAND suit that they filed in August.

I just dont see this going away prior to next summer.

Slacker



To: quartersawyer who wrote (146668)11/29/2006 12:22:33 PM
From: Art Bechhoefer  Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 152472
 
Do you see anything far beyond status quo in April?


A patent case argued yesterday before the Supreme Court could have major consequences. See KSR Intl. v. Teleflex, #04-1350.

The issue here is what is the meaning of "obvious." The patent office has come down on the side of KSR, which believes an original patent is invalid. The lower court ruled against KSR, but the appellate court reversed.

Nokia (and BRCM as well) has been tweaking the original CDMA patents, adding on stuff that they think makes their invention original, even though it is based on QCOM prior art. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of KSR, it will, in effect, bolster the arguments of Nokia and Broadcom.

Art