Perhaps it will never end, and cell phone chip company Qualcomm (QCOM) will battle with its largest customer, Nokia (NOK) until the end of ages.

With Nokia’s license of Qualcomm’s products running out in a week, the US chip company has sued the world’s largest handset company claiming infringement on five patents. Nokia has already made claims in Europe that Qualcomm is abusing its monopoly position in the cell phone IP market. There is also IP litigation pending between Qualcomm and one of its competitors, Broadcom (BCRM). Qualcomm investors don’t like all of this and it is helping keep the shares well below their 52-week high of $53.

The fight between the two companies is a game of chicken that neither company may win.

Douglas A. McIntyre