GigaOM

With parts of Nokia and Qualcomm’s patent licensing agreement set to expire on April 9th, both companies have ratched up their rhetoric and public moves. The harsh words thrown around in the feud are getting as catty as Perez Hilton.

While Nokia said this week it has paid Qualcomm $20 million for UMTS patent licenses, Qualcomm does the smack down on that in a statement:

The announcement that Nokia will only pay a nominal amount makes clear that Nokia does not intend to comply with the agreed-upon terms of the parties’ existing agreement or to pay the fair and established price for access to QUALCOMM’s extensive patent portfolio. Nokia has no more right to unilaterally set a price than the average consumer has a right to walk into a store, take a product off the shelf, and walk out with it after leaving only a fraction of the established price on the counter. Leaving some money on the counter does not make the act any less unlawful.

Doesn’t sound like they are anywhere close to burying the hatchet. Qualcomm also refutes a Nokia claim that it has been paying royalties of no more than 3% on WCDMA products and calls that statement “intentionally deceptive and misleading.” — Qualcomm says Nokia has been paying over 3% to Qualcomm.

Unless there’s some 11th hour breakthrough, it sounds like the April 9th deadline is the beginning of the real battle.

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