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* Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) says TomTom to make payments

* Financial details of settlement not disclosed

(Adds background on dispute, share prices)

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp and Dutch navigation device maker TomTom NV said Monday they had reached a settlement after more than a year of squabbling over software patents.

In the last few weeks, both companies had sued the other, claiming patent infringement.

Under the terms of a five-year agreement, Microsoft said TomTom will pay Microsoft for use of the eight car navigation and file management system patents in the case Microsoft brought against TomTom, while Microsoft will be able to use the four patents included in the TomTom countersuit without any payment to TomTom.

TomTom confirmed there was a settlement but declined further comment.

Specific financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The world's largest software company in February sued in federal court in its home state of Washington and petitioned the U.S. International Trade Commission claiming TomTom -- which makes portable navigation devices for cars and mapping software for handheld computers -- breached eight of its patents.

Microsoft said the patents involved in the case related to innovations in car navigation technology and other computing functionality that Microsoft has licensed to other companies, such as TomTom's rival Garmin Ltd. (nasdaq: GRMN - news - people )

TomTom countersued in the U.S. District Court for the eastern district of Virginia, earlier this month, claiming Microsoft violated a number of its patents.

Microsoft shares slightly pared losses after the announcement, down 3.9 percent at $17.43 in a broad market decline. Ahead of the settlement announcement, TomTom shares closed at 3.413 euros in Amsterdam, down 7.2 percent. (Reporting by Bill Rigby; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Copyright 2009 Reuters, Click for Restriction

Dolly Parton

Besides the Presidential election, there's another big political battle brewing in Washington on Nov. 4. This one is over the airwaves that are used to deliver communications signals to consumers across the country, and like the race for the White House, this contest has created a big divide.

The same day that the country is picking its next President, the Federal Communication Commission will decide whether to make available a large swath of airwaves for wireless high-speed Internet access. It would be the largest-ever contiguous chunk of frequencies, also known as spectrum, doled out by the U.S. government for free public use. Combatants on both sides are out swinging.

Proponents include FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and an odd conglomeration of tech heavyweights that includes Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Dell (DELL), Motorola (MOT), and Philips Electronics North America. The companies hope the freed-up spectrum will spur demand for wireless access and the equipment and advertising that would support it.

Martin has already lined up the support he needs from two additional commissioners, according to a person familiar with the matter. Still, opposition has gathered steam in recent days, leaving some to speculate the vote on the issue may be delayed, if not ultimately defeated.

Broadcast Disruption?

The opposing faction comprises even stranger bedfellows—from the National Association of Broadcasters, an industry group that represents radio and TV stations, to electronics companies such as Qualcomm (QCOM) and LG Electronics. Even Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren and performers Guns N' Roses and Dolly Parton have weighed in. "I don't know all the legalese concerning this issue, so I've had some very smart people inform me about the legalities here," Parton writes in an Oct. 24 letter that begins on a folksy note. "This industry relies on wireless technology and is in jeopardy of being irreversibly devastated by the Commission's pending decision."

Parton's concern, and that of other opponents, is that new technology would disrupt broadcasts and use of wireless microphones. Their first goal is to get the FCC to delay its Nov. 4 vote. Even former Presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton urged Martin in an Oct. 28 letter to give "all due consideration" to concerns raised by opponents of the move.

The FCC appears intent on holding to its Nov. 4 time frame. On Oct. 29 the commission issued a meeting agenda that includes plans to rule on the airwaves, also known as white spaces, that are located in between channels used for broadcasting TV signals. "The proposal on TV white spaces is scheduled for a vote Nov. 4," says an FCC spokesman. "We moved cautiously with this proposal, we've taken into consideration public comments that have been provided over the past several years." The FCC has received more than 33,600 comments and will continue to accept input through Oct. 31.

Given the imminent change in Presidential administrations and the likelihood of new leadership at the FCC, a lengthy delay could doom an initiative that's been in the works for more than four years, analysts say.

BAGHDAD, Oct. 17 -- Iraq's political leaders on Friday began studying a draft agreement to extend the U.S. military presence here beyond 2008, but some lawmakers predicted the proposal would face a tough fight in parliament.

The accord was expected to face its first test Friday night, as President Jalal Talabani scheduled a meeting of the 23-member Political Council for National Security to discuss it. The advisory body includes political, legislative and judicial leaders.

If approved, the document would then be sent to the Cabinet, and then to parliament.

The U.S. government needs new legal authority to keep its approximately 155,000 troops in Iraq beyond Dec. 31, when a United Nations mandate expires. The new draft accord requires U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities by mid-2009, and to leave the country by the end of 2011.

The months-long negotiations over the pact had broken down over the sensitive issue of whether U.S. soldiers would be tried in Iraqi courts if they violate the law.

Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Friday that new compromise language in the agreement would permit the U.S. to maintain legal jurisdiction over its forces when they were on their bases or outside them on a mission.

If a soldier commits a crime outside a base while off-duty, a decision on jurisdiction "needs to be made jointly by a subcommittee," Zebari told the Post. But he indicated the U.S. would have the last word. "If the crime is very grave or serious, the U.S. may waive its jurisdiction," he said.

U.S. soldiers rarely leave their bases while off duty.

The U.S. Defense Department, which insists on jurisdiction over its forces stationed around the world, supports the compromise, according to Pentagon officials. But it was unclear whether it would satisfy Iraqi politicians, who have complained bitterly about what they view as abuses committed by U.S. troops and contractors since the 2003 invasion.

In Najaf, the religious capital of Iraq's Shiite majority, a leading cleric blasted the idea of giving U.S. forces immunity from Iraqi law.

"We consider this a basic point because it represents sovereignty," said Sadir Addin al-Qobanchi, in his sermon at Friday prayers at the city's grand mosque. "If someone commits a hostile act against your house and family and you say it is fine and don't hold him responsible, it means that you don't have dignity or sovereignty."

U.S. military and political officials have expressed concern that the agreement may not make it through Iraq's slow-moving political process by year's end. In that case, American forces would have no legal grounds to stay. U.S. officials have begun exploring other options, such as an extension of the U.N. mandate, but that could be politically and legally complicated.