Qualcomm, Broadcom split ruling in patent case

Qualcomm infringed parts of a Broadcom patent on a way to conserve battery life in mobile phones, but phone imports shouldn’t be blocked because of the violation, a federal administrative law judge said Tuesday.

The judge’s finding, which will be forwarded to the full U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), was a mixed one for the dueling mobile technology companies. ITC Administrative Law Judge Charles Bullock found Qualcomm infringed only five claims on the patent, but not two other patents involved in the case. However, Bullock declared all of Broadcom’s patents valid, dealing a blow to Qualcomm, which had challenged them.

The two companies are embroiled in a complex set of patent actions going both ways. In bringing this case to the ITC, Broadcom accused Qualcomm of violating U.S. trade laws by importing products that infringe patents. Under Bullock’s finding, imports of Qualcomm chips for cell phones could be blocked to prevent further infringement, and Qualcomm could be stopped from further sales of the chips. But he recommended against blocking imports of phones that use those chips, according to a Qualcomm statement.

The ITC is scheduled to make a decision on this case by Feb. 9, 2007, according to a Broadcom statement. Broadcom will ask the Commission to review Bullock’s findings on the other two patents and the importation of phones. After the ITC is finished, the company will also sue Qualcomm over the patents in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California, near Broadcom’s home town of Irvine. Qualcomm, which makes mobile device silicon and technology but not phones, is based in San Diego.

The patent at issue, U.S. Patent No. 6,714,983, covers technology for controlling power use in a phone when it is not in service and out of range of coverage, according to Qualcomm. Broadcom has alleged that Qualcomm products infringe 18 of its patents.