Broadcom claim against Qualcomm upheld

Qualcomm Inc. is infringing a Broadcom Corp. patent on a way to conserve battery power in cellphone handsets, a U.S. trade panel found, upholding an administrative judge’s finding.

The International Trade Commission will decide on a remedy by Feb. 9 for Qualcomm’s use of the technology without permission, Broadcom said.

Broadcom, a maker of chips for consumer electronic devices, wants the commission to ban imports of handsets with Qualcomm’s newest chips. Qualcomm said it might be able to work around the patent, which covers a way to save battery life when a phone is out of range of networks.