Broadcom, Qualcomm Told to Meet on Patents

Broadcom Corp. Chairman Henry Samueli and Qualcomm Inc. Chairman Irwin Jacobs must appear together before a U.S. magistrate to try to settle patent disputes over mobile-phone chip technology.

U.S. Magistrate Anthony Battaglia ordered the two executives to meet Oct. 4 at a conference in San Diego federal court. There are 10 lawsuits pending between the two companies.

Samueli and Jacobs must “discuss a global resolution in earnest,” said Battaglia, who issued the order Monday.

Samueli, who built Irvine-based Broadcom based on chips for TV set-top boxes, wants to expand into cellphones and says Qualcomm is charging unfair royalties. San Diego-based Qualcomm says any handset that includes the third generation of phone technology must pay a royalty, which Jacobs says is a fair rate.

“It’s appropriate for the judge to approach the issues globally,” Qualcomm spokeswoman Christine Trimble said. Broadcom has “a long history of theft” of Qualcomm’s trade secrets, Trimble said.

“Qualcomm’s false and incredible accusations are unlikely to promote a constructive atmosphere for the mediation,” Broadcom spokesman David Rosmann said.