Nokia and Qualcomm each own patents. Each uses technology covered by the other's patents. On April 8, parts of the agreements that governed their technology sharing expire. While the two companies have been negotiating extensions of the agreements, the discussions haven't always been perfectly amicable, as Qualcomm has filed for arbitration on payments that Nokia has made for technology--payments that Qualcomm says are inadequate. Why should customers care about the agreements? Because the Qualcomm patents cover wideband CDMA--a market that Nokia has seemed reluctant to enter. Big-company contracts have a significant effect on what customers can buy--a critical issue in a market where handset functions [1] are expanding rapidly.

For more on the negotiations:
- Read the complete article [2] at CIO-Today.com