Judge revises patent lawsuit payout

Chip maker Broadcom Corp. said Friday that it would accept a jury’s $19.6-million damage award in a patent dispute with Qualcomm Inc. after a judge withdrew his ruling doubling the amount.

U.S. District Judge James V. Selna in Santa Ana had doubled the award after finding that Qualcomm’s patent infringement was intentional. On Wednesday, he restored the original amount after a federal appellate court raised the bar for proving patent infringement in an unrelated case. Selna otherwise upheld the finding of infringement.

Irvine- based Broadcom, best known as a maker of chips for television set-top boxes and Apple Inc.’s video iPod, has been fighting San Diego-based Qualcomm in federal and state court and before the U.S. International Trade Commission as it seeks to grab a bigger share of the market for chips used in so-called third-generation mobile phones.

Broadcom said in a statement that it would seek an injunction to stop Qualcomm from “making, using, selling and developing” third-generation chips that infringe the patents. Third-generation phones offer high-speed Internet and multimedia features.

Qualcomm said in a statement that it was pleased with the judge’s decision. The company has had a series of recent losses in a legal fight that began in 2004, when Broadcom decided to compete directly with Qualcomm, the second-largest maker of chips that run mobile phones, behind Texas Instruments Inc.

Broadcom shares rose 69 cents to $27.83. Qualcomm shares gained 7 cents to $40.53.