Nokia: Delaware case unlikely to solve Qualcomm row

Employees walk to the change of shift at the plant of Nokia in Bochum February 12, 2008.

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Cellphone maker Nokia (NOK1V.HE) said on Sunday its agreement in a U.S. court in Delaware with Qualcomm was unlikely to solve the major legal battle over patent fees between the two technology heavyweights.

Nokia and Qualcomm (QCOM.O) agreed late on Friday to consolidate their arbitration case in Los Angeles with the legal case in Delaware, on topics of that case, and put on hold ongoing and potential patent litigations between the two firms.

Shares in Qualcomm rose more than 5 percent on the news on Friday, and closed 2.5 percent higher at $43.47.

"The Delaware case is one step which could help the companies reach common ground on certain issues that are in dispute; however, it is unlikely the case will resolve the overall licensing negotiations between the companies," said Nokia spokeswoman Anne Eckert.

The issues to be decided in Delaware include interpretation of their 2001 technology licensing agreement, and certain parts of standardization rules, as well as topics of the arbitration filing made by Qualcomm.

Nokia, the world's largest cellphone maker, and San Diego-based chip firm Qualcomm have more than a dozen legal fights pending on three continents. The two firms' expensive legal battle is worrying investors and the industry on both sides of the Atlantic.

The companies have been at legal loggerheads since they failed to renew a part of their 2001 technology licensing pact that expired last April. Analysts have estimated Nokia pays around $500 million to Qualcomm annually for patents and wants to cut the sum.

Qualcomm's head of European operations, Andrew Gilbert, told Reuters in an interview earlier this month, the company did not see smaller payment as an option.

"We want them to pay what they should be paying ... as soon as possible," Gilbert said in an interview at Mobile World Congress trade show.

Nokia has repeatedly said it was looking for a timely solution to the battle, but not at any cost.

(Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Richard Hubbard)