Samsung Electronics has signed a $1.3 billion licensing agreement with Qualcomm for use of the chip giant’s 3G and 4G technology patents over the next 15 years.
Terms and conditions of the deal remain confidential, but the contract appears to cover handset and base station patents for CDMA, WCDMA, OFDMA, TD-SCDMA, LTE, and WiMax. The contract was signed on November 4.
The cross-licensing deal also gives Qualcomm the right to use Samsung’s 57 patents for wireless technology. The exact number of patent licenses transferred between the two companies was not disclosed.
The agreement with the Korean manufacturer comes after the Korea Fair Trade Commission levied a $230 million charge against Qualcomm over the summer. The Commission alleges that Qualcomm abused its monopoly on CDMA patents. South Korea, home to manufacturing giants Samsung and LG, is one of Qualcomm’s largest markets. Qualcomm is currently appealing the Commission’s ruling.
