ITC Bars Sale of Broadcom Chips

The U.S. International Trade Commission has barred the U.S. sale of certain communications chip products designed by a Broadcom Corp. subsidiary that infringe two Intel Corp. chip packaging patents.

The chips and products that infringe the Intel patents, designed by Irvine-based Broadcom subsidiary Altima Communications Inc., are made overseas.

Products made abroad on behalf of Altima or its related entities “are excluded from entry for consumption into the United States” for the duration of the patents, which end in 2015 and 2016,” the order stated.

Broadcom bought Altima in September 2001, and Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel filed the patent infringement lawsuit against Altima, alleging infringement of four patents, in August 2000.

Ultimately, Administrative Law Judge Paul Luckern ruled in July that Altima infringed the two patents referred to in the Oct. 23 order that now bars importation of products using technology covered by those two patents.