Broadcom and Qualcomm agree to stop suing one another, but not to stop hating
by Darren Murph 
posted Apr 26th 2009 at 10:59PM
qualcomm,broadcom posts
Judge dismisses Broadcom patent lawsuit against Qualcomm, Broadcom keeps on suing
by Donald Melanson posted Mar 16th 2009 at 9:13PM
Broadcom has seen quite a few legal victories in its ongoing battle with Qualcomm, but it was dealt a bit of a setback on Friday when U.S. District Court Judge William Hayes shot down one of its most recent lawsuits. Apparently, Broadcom wasn't quite specific enough about the patents it was suing over this time around, which is something Qualcomm has been complaining about as far back as November, saying at that time that Broadcam has failed "to specify a single device, a single patent, a single license, or a single sale." All is not lost for Broadcom, however, as it just so happens to have a separate lawsuit against Qualcomm pending at the very same district court. Not surprisingly, Broadcom also says that intends to refile the rejected lawsuit "within two weeks," while Qualcomm apparently plans to continue banging its head against a wall.US Appeals court sez Qualcomm infringed on two Broadcom patents
by Darren Murph posted Sep 24th 2008 at 3:39PM
[Via Reuters]
Qualcomm: yeah, Broadcom injunction smarts a bit
by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 2nd 2008 at 7:33PM
In case there was any doubt, Qualcomm has publicly acknowledged that Broadcom's win in US District Court over the banning of its chipsets that infringe on Broadcom's patents will "hurt" as it immediately halts shipments and adjusts to provide a more law-abiding set of products. The company seems pretty convinced that the pain will be felt primarily in the first quarter, largely because redesigned silicon is already in manufacturers' hands with commercial availability following on in the next few months. Investors seem to agree, with shares sliding a mere 1.8 percent on the news; as analysts point out, the far-reaching nature of the ban is offset somewhat by the relatively speedy availability of replacement designs that don't infringe (or so Qualcomm claims, anyway) on any pricey intellectual property.Broadcom wins major injunction against Qualcomm
by Evan Blass posted Dec 31st 2007 at 8:59PM
In the latest major twist in this epic battle between wireless chipmakers, a US District Judge has slapped a permanent injunction on any products containing those Qualcomm 3G chips ruled to be infringing on Broadcom's so-called '686 patents. Not only can Qualcomm no longer offer infringing devices nor the chips themselves in the US, the retroactive nature of the ruling means that the company can't even provide service or technical support for '686 products already on the market. At this point, with a voluntary licensing agreement seemingly off the table, the next move for Qualcomm is establishing a plan of action to show Judge James Selna how it plans to redesign its products into compliance. [Warning: PDF link][Via Reuters]
Qualcomm's legal quarrels continue... against its own lawyers
by Darren Murph posted Oct 13th 2007 at 9:17PM
If you had an inkling that Qualcomm's legal altercations were finally concluding, you'd be badly mistaken. Reportedly, the chip maker is now feuding with 19 of its own attorneys (or should we say, prior attorneys) over "who should shoulder the blame for what a judge called 'gross misconduct on a massive scale' at a past trial." Apparently, 21 crucial e-mails and some 200,000 pages of documents owned by Qualcomm were withheld until after Broadcom trials, which was unsurprisingly seen as a "carefully orchestrated plan and deadly determination to hold hostage the entire industry." Now, US Magistrate Judge Barbara Major is "considering sanctions" against the lawyers in question, which has placed their careers in danger and is "prolonging a damaging episode for Qualcomm." We're tempted to ask what could possibly happen next, but quite frankly, we're terrified of the answer.Qualcomm ban on hold, US importing may return to normal
by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 13th 2007 at 3:43AM
What a system we live in. After having multiple requests denied, Qualcomm (or at least those third-parties using its 3G chipsets) was just granted a stay which again opens the door for the US import of Qualcomm-based handsets. Right, those same handsets banned by the ITC at the request of Broadcom on June 7th. In essence, the ruling means that Qualcomm can not import phones but others -- namely, Motorola, Samsung, T-Mobile, LG, AT&T -- can. Note, this isn't a reversal of the original decision and only remains in effect pending appeal. In other words, this is nowhere near to being over. [Via Phonemag]
US Prez upholds Qualcomm chip ban, Verizon snickers
by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 6th 2007 at 6:51PM
Qualcomm -- a company that's arguably more used to suing than being sued -- isn't finding much luck in its protracted quest to avoid a Broadcom-led ban of its 3G hardware from coming into the States. Following a recent denial of its motion to stay the ban in the court system, the President of The United States himself (or his administration, anyway) has swooped in to render an executive judgment, and it ain't looking any better for Qualcomm. Saying that the importance of protecting IP rights outweighs the inconvenience of the ban, the Bush folks have stood by the ITC's decision to impose the ban in the first place, making it seem all that much smarter now for Verizon to have sidestepped the whole ordeal and paid Broadcom itself. Barring any last minute antics, the ban gets enforced starting tomorrow.Qualcomm's request for stay on chip ban refused... again
by Darren Murph posted Jul 22nd 2007 at 1:00PM
Talk about tough luck. For the second time in as many month's, Qualcomm has been flat out denied by the courts as it has attempted to stall a ban on its chips over the Broadcom patent disputes. This time around, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit "dismissed Qualcomm's request for a stay of the ban, saying that it can't consider a stay until a presidential review period is over." Furthermore, this harsh news (for Qualcomm, at least) comes just days after being evaded by Verizon, and if that wasn't enough, the EU's stamp of approval on DVB-H could put MediaFlo in a world of hurt. Hang in there Qualcomm, all's not lost... yet.Request for stay on Qualcomm chip import ban refused
by Conrad Quilty-Harper posted Jun 23rd 2007 at 3:10PM
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.Feds impose "partial ban" on Qualcomm-powered phones
by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 7th 2007 at 5:26PM
Stock up on those 3G handsets, folks -- they could become very valuable commodities here in the next few weeks. As part of an ongoing series of spats between wireless giants Qualcomm and Broadcom, the US International Trade Commission has ruled that handsets containing Qualcomm 3G chipsets (and that's a whole heck of a lot of handsets) that are manufactured starting today may not be imported into the US. By all accounts, this appears to be much more than legal posturing on Broadcomm's part -- a ban is a ban -- and we've gotta believe this'll resolve itself right quick. But if for whatever reason it doesn't, get ready for an eBay free-for-all in a gloomy, scorched-earth future where the only high speed handsets are pawned for thousands of New Dollars on the black market. [Warning: subscription required]
