Qualcomm reminds Nokia it has them by the balls

U.S. wireless technology firm Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) Inc. warned on Wednesday a long-running spat with Nokia (NYSE: NOK) could escalate and lead to a legal action if the Finnish firm halted royalty payments.

"Any talk of us lowering royalties really is speculation at this point," Jacobs said.

Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) Inc. also complain Qualcomm’s fees are higher than the agreed-upon standard of "fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory."

Qualcomm’s shares have plunged about 30 percent in the past six months, partly because of the uncertainty fomented by its legal disputes with Nokia and other firms.

Source: Reuters

This is starting to get nasty, even TI is saying Qualcomm is hitting below the belt. Interesting to see how this turns out. As a reminder, the contracts expire in April 07.