Qualcomm loses trial over patents
Qualcomm Inc.’s legal woes deepened Tuesday when a Santa Ana jury found that the communications chip maker violated patents of rival Broadcom Corp. and awarded damages of $19.6 million.
The federal jury decided that San Diego-based Qualcomm violated three Broadcom patents that help cellphones process video, enable walkie-talkie conversations and work on two types of networks.
“This is an overwhelming victory for Broadcom,” said David Rosmann, a lawyer for the Irvine company. “It affirms the value and significance of our intellectual property and confirms our strong belief that Qualcomm is not playing by the rules.”
Broadcom plans to ask the court to bar the sale of handsets that contain the offending chips and to triple the damages, based on a unanimous jury finding that the infringement was willful.
Qualcomm said it would appeal the verdict. “We continue to believe that none of the Broadcom patent claims are valid or were infringed by Qualcomm,” said Lou Lupin, the company’s general counsel.
Qualcomm has become a lightning rod for patent litigation as the mobile-phone industry moves to faster third-generation cellular networks that allow handsets to double as cameras, televisions and e-mail and messaging devices.
The company, whose system is the core for Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp. and smaller carriers, is ensnarled in numerous lawsuits on three continents involving Broadcom and such industry giants as Texas Instruments Inc., NEC Corp., Nokia and Ericsson.
Many of the patents involve the latest cellphone technologies, which are only now making their way into handsets sold in the U.S. Sprint, for instance, expects to sell 5 million handsets this year with the latest functions, though Verizon Wireless is putting the top technology in most of its phones now.
The newness of the technology also is a reason the Santa Ana verdict is lower than in most patent cases. Broadcom was seeking only $20 million.
As cellphones become mini-computers that work with other devices, such as TV set-top boxes and personal computers, manufacturers face the increasing likelihood that chips in handsets infringe existing patents used in those other devices.
The unanimous verdict marks the third time in six months that Broadcom has bested Qualcomm in patent litigation.
In January, Broadcom defeated its larger rival’s claims of patent infringement in a federal trial in San Diego. A judge there is mulling over what to do with a jury finding that the company abused a process for setting technology standards.
In December, the U.S. International Trade Commission found that Qualcomm infringed a Broadcom patent for conserving battery power, a key concern for power-hungry cellphones. It is expected to decide June 7 whether to bar the import of all handsets containing Qualcomm chips that infringe Broadcom patents.
Qualcomm shares, which had gained 93 cents to close at $44.28, lost 31 cents after hours. Broadcom shares, which had gained 13 cents to close at $30.65, gained 35 cents after hours.
