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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Moderated Thread - please read rules before posting -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: JustLearning who wrote (61159)3/19/2007 5:39:55 PM
From: slacker711  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 197011
 
Does "will still be licensed" mean no royalties owed for using the "early patents" in handsets past April 2007? I hope this is not the case.

I have the same interpretation as Eric. Nokia will be "paid up" for the early CDMA patents and can use those patents without paying license fees. I assume the first license agreement was written that way since some of those patents are still enforceable. If this was written into the second contract, it was a giant mistake on Q's part.

If you are looking for an out, you might be able to find some ambiguity in the fact that Altman says that "some products" will remained licensed. It is possible he is just talking about infrastructure. Personally, I highly doubt that since it would have been in Q's benefit to be more explicit and the fact that nobody has ever talked about the infrastructure license. My assumption is either that it doesnt expire or that Nokia has never paid royalties on infrastructure so it doesnt matter anyway.

qualcomm.com


QUESTION FROM EHUD GELBLUM (JP MORGAN)
When the comment was made about the expiration of the contract, I just want to understand why
it expires “in part.”

STEVE ALTMAN, PRESIDENT, QUALCOMM
As far as "in part." The agreement is complicated. And I've got to be a little careful about how
much detail I can go into. Basically, if you recall, how some patents are licensed and then there
are “capture” periods and so forth. Nokia would remain licensed under very early patents. So it's
not that all of the entire agreement expires. Some of their products would remain licensed under
some of the earlier patents.
That's why we say it expires “in part.” Just certain, very early patents,
remain licensed. The rest of the patents, the vast majority of our patents, would not be licensed.
And those would expire.



To: JustLearning who wrote (61159)3/19/2007 7:56:32 PM
From: waitwatchwander  Respond to of 197011
 
Here's a list of the earlier patents and the 2 forward linked replies cover their expiry.

Message 16815077

Nokia is just stating the obvious which has been known for a decade. Around the timeframe of 2008/2009, most parties should be able to produce a basic GSM, UMTS or TD-SCDMA handset without a licence but anything EVDO or HSxPD (based on HDR) and is going to require some sort of Qualcomm licence up until around 2016 or so. GPRS/EDGE and more advanced UMTS capabilities fall somewhere in the middle of those ranges.

Nokia's token w-cdma patents might even give them an advantage over their chinese and korean counter parts in the manufacture of basic UTMS handsets. The same goes for the Chinese with TD-SCDMA. Wouldn't that be something, if they both managed to forestall all those with more advanced technologies from selling handsets in their markets while they milked their token enhancements to Qualcomm's fundamental enabling technologies.

Just like was done with GSM over the last decade, it might well be that "the plan" is to milk basic 3G technologies until the later HDR expiry date. Then, there's WiMAX. However, anyone going that route is going to miss out on the conversion of all communication systems into full packet data services (ie VOIP, PTT, LBS, AnyData and viral video) and delay true global telecom innovation for another decade. Although such a modus operandi seems totally unsustainable in this day and age, Nokia is famous for their gumbo wellingtons. They were invented in the 1800's and are still big sellers in certain markets to this day.

Who knows, with a shift in technologies from computers and communications to a global warming energy reduction focus the world might not need advanced communication applications. Europe may decide to remain in the 20th century but it is hard to believe that any 3rd world economy is not going to embrace an opportunity to leap frog into the developed world.