IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — Chip maker Broadcom Corp. said Friday it will try to stop rival Qualcomm Inc. from making, using, selling or developing cellular chips based on contested patents.
It's the latest legal cannonball hurled by Broadcom in its wide-ranging court battle with industry Goliath Qualcomm over the rights to technology for cell phones.
The move comes two days after Broadcom chose to accept a reduced damage award of $19.6 million rather than retry its case against Qualcomm in a California federal court.
U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna initially indicated he would award Broadcom $39.3 million in damages, double what a jury awarded in May. The panel found that Qualcomm willfully violated three of Broadcom's patents on technologies that help cell phones process video and walkie-talkie conversations and hand off calls between different networks.
Selna overturned his own ruling after a federal appellate court raised the bar for proving patent infringement. That ruling came in a dispute between an individual investor and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology against Seagate Technology, the world's largest maker of hard drives.
Broadcom spokesman Bill Blanning said the company was glad Selna allowed the original jury verdict to stand and hoped he would grant the company's request for an injunction on Qualcomm's production of third-generation WCDMA and EV-DO cellular chips.
Qualcomm plans to ask the judge to approve a system of royalty payments by its customers to Broadcom in lieu of ordering an injunction, said spokeswoman Christine Trimble. Earlier this year, Verizon Wireless agreed to pay Broadcom $6 for each phone with a patent-infringing Qualcomm chip — up to $40 million a quarter or $200 million over the life of the agreement.
Qualcomm, based in San Diego, is the world's second-largest chip supplier for mobile phones after Texas Instruments Inc. but earns much of its money from licensing fees on its patented technology. Broadcom, based in Irvine, is a newcomer to the cell phone business but has scored several legal victories against Qualcomm this year.
Qualcomm shares rose 7 cents, or .07 percent, to $40.53 in trading Friday. Broadcom's shares rose 69 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $27.83.
