Advertisement

Request for stay on Qualcomm chip import ban refused

The battle between Qualcomm and Broadcom over the former company's status in the states has taken a turn for the worse from Qualcomm's perspective, as a judge here denies a stay on the import ban of Qualcomm chips. The ban is related to a patent dispute with Broadcom, which won a case against Qualcomm a year ago, resulting in an import ban on chips that help conserve power in cellphones. It seems as if the ban will remain in place thanks to this ruling, which reaffirms the earlier enforcement of a ban on top of a nearly $20 million settlement between the two companies. So far it's hard to judge the effects of the ruling -- there certainly hasn't been a shortage of 3G handsets in the country (or has there?) -- since the ban went into effect, but since we're sitting behind a sheen of consumerism, it's not like we're in the best position to notice.