Ending a long-running, global-spanning patent war over issues stemming from a now-expired licensing agreement, the two wireless giants have reached a settlement that some say is a win for both companies, as well as for the industry.

Nokia Corp., the Finnish maker of cell phone handsets, and Qualcomm Inc., the San-Diego-based maker of chips for cell phones, recently agreed to settle their dispute over patents and royalties – a legal battle that lasted almost three years ad spanned continents. Many believe that with the deal – which covers the GSM, EDGE, CDMA, WCDMA, WiMAX, LTE and other technologies – Nokia won its battle for cheaper royalty fees, while Qualcomm got access to a lot of new technologies crucial to future mobile devices.

Besides ending all litigation involving the two companies, the terms of the agreement state that Nokia receives a 15-year license to use Qualcomm’s patented technologies in Nokia’s mobile phones and in Nokia Siemens Network’s infrastructure equipment – technology that improves phone performance, increases battery life and reduces product size. Nokia also agrees not to use any of its patents against Qualcomm so the latter can include Nokia technology in its chips. It will also provide Qualcomm with an upfront payment for all future royalties.

On the other hand, Qualcomm acquires ownership of some of Nokia’s wireless technology patents related to GSM, CDMA, WCDMA and other standards, so companies currently licensing those patents will now be paying the wireless telecom R&D company.

The dispute started in April 2007 when the previous licensing agreement between the two companies expired. At that time, Nokia claimed that the old handset patents were now fully paid up and that it should pay a lower royalty rate for the newer patents because it now had patents of its own to offset those of Qualcomm. Qualcomm disagreed and lawsuits and counter-lawsuits have been filed in the US and Europe, including an anti-trust complaint against Qualcomm to the European Commission (since withdrawn). Hundreds of millions of dollars were at stake.

Additionally, Nokia together with other manufacturers, raised other issues, including: Qualcomm’s failure to meet its commitments to international standard bodies and to license its technology on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms, and its anti-competitive conduct in the licensing of essential patents for the 3G mobile technology and allegedly exclusion of competitors from entering the market.

Not all of these issues have been resolved. But a settlement was reached after just one day of arbitration – on the very day a court in Wilmington, Delaware was to begin the trial of the case, and after Qualcomm delayed the release of its third-quarter fiscal results. With a German court previously throwing out Qualcomm’s claims and cases still pending in the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy and China, the deal came as a surprise. Nevertheless, shares in both companies rose upon the news.

So who’s the real winner? Mark McKechnie, an industry specialist with American Technology Research, as quoted in Matt Richtel’s New York Times article, said that it “probably [was] a smart move for Nokia, but a lucrative move for Qualcomm.” Lucrative for Qualcomm because the deal could mean about $400 million in royalties paid to the company next year and about $200 million a year saved in legal bills. Smart for Nokia because, with its hands full facing smart phone competitors and going through industry transition, it could not afford these legal tussles with Qualcomm or any other company. What’s more, the company will reportedly pay less than five percent of the royalty that Qualcomm usually charges manufacturers.

And the industry is a winner too. Analysts say that markets do not like uncertainty. And with this deal, a lot of uncertainties have been removed, at least for the duration of the agreement.