Federal Judge Finds Qualcomm in Contempt of Injunction on 3G Cellular and Push-to-Talk Products Previously Found to Infringe Broadcom Patents
IRVINE, Calif. – Broadcom Corporation(NASDAQ:BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, announced that a federal judge today found Qualcomm Incorporated(NASDAQ:QCOM)in contempt of an injunction he ordered last December designed to prevent Qualcomm from continued infringement of three Broadcom(R) patents.
U.S. District Judge James V. Selna found that Qualcomm violated the injunction by continuing to use and support infringing WCDMA chips and ordered Qualcomm to immediately cease such use and support. The court further found that Qualcomm violated the injunction by failing to pay royalties to Broadcom on its infringing QChat(R) products. Citing the "egregiousness" of Qualcomm's conduct, the court ordered Qualcomm to pay Broadcom the gross profits Qualcomm has earned on its infringing QChat(R) products. Judge Selna further ordered Qualcomm to pay Broadcom's attorneys fees in connection with the contempt proceedings.
Additionally, the Court reserved determination of whether Qualcomm should also be held in contempt for post-injunction offers to sell infringing WCDMA chips pending additional discovery and proceedings.
"Over the past two years, Qualcomm has been found to have infringed four Broadcom patents, abused the standards-setting process, and committed gross discovery misconduct, and now has been held in contempt of a court-ordered injunction," said David Rosmann, Broadcom's Vice President, Intellectual Property Litigation. "Qualcomm's conduct demonstrates a startling lack of respect for its competitors' intellectual property, industry standards-setting processes, and the courts."
Broadcom filed the case in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., in May 2005. On May 29, 2007, a unanimous jury returned a verdict finding that Qualcomm infringed three Broadcom patents and awarded $19.64 million in damages for past infringement.
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