Qualcomm loses 3G patent fight

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 2 Jan 2008 at 10:51

A Californian judge has ruled that Qualcomm must stop selling 3G chips that infringe on Broadcom patents.

The judge has also placed strict limitations on the sale of other chips that use technology based on disputed Broadcom patents.

According to the ruling, any chips which Qualcomm was selling as of 29 May 2007 can continue to be sold until the end of January 2009, but only to existing customers. The company will be forced to pay mandatory royalties to Broadcom during this "sunset period."

He also ordered Broadcom and Qualcomm to negotiate a royalty deal for a third patent covering a new technology called QChat, which Sprint Nextel intends to deploy in the first quarter of 2008 using Qualcomm chips.

The judge also demanded that the companies file a joint report before the February hearing on how they plan to handle Qualcomm's attempts to "design around" the infringing chips.

"Broadcom should not have to compete against companies that use Broadcom's own patented technology against us, and this injunction puts a stop to Qualcomm doing just that," says the company's general counsel David Dull.

A Qualcomm spokeswoman says the company's lawyers were reviewing the ruling and had no immediate comment.