U.S. Appeals Court Affirms Jury Verdict That Qualcomm Infringes Two Broadcom Patents
IRVINE, Calif. – Broadcom Corporation(NASDAQ:BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today upheld a unanimous jury verdict that Qualcomm Incorporated(NASDAQ:QCOM)cellular chips and software infringe two Broadcom(R) patents, and upheld the injunction entered by the district court on those two patents. The appeals court also rejected Qualcomm's request for a new trial. The court ruled that a third patent was invalid.
"The appeals court's decision is a major victory for Broadcom in our ongoing effort to protect our intellectual property," said David Rosmann, Broadcom Vice President, Intellectual Property Litigation.
Broadcom filed the infringement 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 past damages to Broadcom. Late last year, U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna issued an injunction against Qualcomm designed to stop the company from continuing its infringement of the three Broadcom patents.
In August 2008, Judge Selna found Qualcomm in contempt of his injunction by, among other things, failing to pay royalties to Broadcom on 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.
The two patents that the appeals court upheld are U.S. Patent No. 5,657,317, which the jury found infringed by Qualcomm's EV-DO technology, and U.S. Patent No. 6,389,010, which the jury found infringed by Qualcomm's QChat chips and software. The third patent, held invalid, is U.S. Patent No. 6,847,686, which relates to video processing technology.
The Santa Ana case is one of several cases in which Broadcom continues to pursue claims against Qualcomm regarding patent infringement, anti-competitive behavior and fraud issues. Qualcomm has either lost or withdrawn all of the patent infringement cases it brought against Broadcom.
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Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with our litigation with Qualcomm include, but are not limited to:
-- our ability to prevail in the various federal and state lawsuits and
other proceedings against Qualcomm, including any appeals;
-- the ability of our patents to protect our intellectual property and
products;
-- our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights; and
-- the risks associated with litigation in general, including the costs
and time that must be devoted to litigation, the potential diversion of
attention of management and key employees that may result from being
engaged in litigation, and the possibility of adverse results.
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