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Broadcom Wins One Battle in Qualcomm War

Scott Moritz

Broadcom (BRCM Quote) was awarded $19.6 million in damages after a federal jury determined that Qualcomm (QCOM Quote) infringed on three of its patents.

The U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., found that Qualcomm intentionally used Broadcom patents in three of four handset-chip technologies being challenged. A June 18 hearing is scheduled to determine if Broadcom will win an injunction.

"We are heartened that the legal system has provided redress for Qualcomm's infringing behavior," Broadcom attorney Dave Dull said in a press release Tuesday.

For its part, Qualcomm said it will fight the findings.

"We continue to believe that none of the Broadcom patent claims are valid or were infringed by Qualcomm, and we will challenge the jury's findings of infringement, validity and willfulness in post-trial motions and on appeal if necessary," Qualcomm lawyer Lou Lupin said in a statement.

The verdict comes five days after the U.S. International Trade Commission postponed a decision concerning Broadcom and Qualcomm patents on wireless-chip technology.

Broadcom and Qualcomm are fighting each other on at least three other intellectual property lawsuits still outstanding, as the global growth of cell-phone users has helped fuel a hotly contested wireless-chip technology property battle with billions of dollars of revenue on the line.

Some analysts say the court battles will continue but believe that settlements will likely win out eventually.

"While we continue to expect Qualcomm and Broadcom to eventually settle on terms that do not have a material impact on Qualcomm's financial model, the Broadcom litigation continues to hang around like a very bad cold," JPMorgan analyst Ehud Gelblum wrote in a research note Tuesday.

The No. 1 mobile-phone maker, Nokia (NOK Quote), also is involved in several legal disputes with Qualcomm and has yet to successfully negotiate a new licensing agreement.

In March, Nokia filed complaints against Qualcomm in Germany and the Netherlands, seeking a ruling that Qualcomm's European patents are exhausted.