Motorola Loses Round in Patent Case

Motorola Inc. was dealt a setback as the U.S. Court of Appeals issued a ruling that means Qualcomm Corp. can continue to sell its Q wireless telephones while the companies are embroiled in a patent dispute.

The court upheld a lower court’s denial of Motorola’s request for a preliminary injunction that would have prevented sales of Qualcomm’s Q phone. Motorola is accusing San Diego-based Qualcomm with infringing on patents Motorola holds on its StarTac product, another very small wireless phone.

The patent dispute is expected to go to trial. The case began last March, when Qualcomm sued Motorola, seeking a declaratory judgment that its products don’t infringe on Motorola patents.

Motorola then counter-sued and won a temporary restraining order, which prevented the making and selling of Q phones. The ban was lifted a month later by a U.S. district judge.

Motorola rose 25 cents to $56.13. Qualcomm was unchanged at $46. The appellate court ruling was disclosed after the close of U.S. trading.