Broadcom to prevent Qualcomm from producing cellular chips

Chip maker Broadcom Corp. will make an attempt to stop rival Qualcomm Inc. from making, using, selling or developing cellular chips based on contested patents.

Photo: Broadcom to prevent Qualcomm from producing cellular chips

Broadcom to prevent Qualcomm from producing cellular chips

It's the latest legal cannonball hurled by Broadcom in its wide-ranging court battle with 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 (13.2 million EUR) rather than retry its case against Qualcomm in a federal court in Santa Ana.

U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna initially indicated he would award Broadcom $39.3 million (26.5 million EUR) 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 appeals court raised the threshold 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, based in San Diego, is the world's second-largest chip supplier for mobile phones after Texas Instruments Inc. Qualcomm 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 to $40.53 in trading Friday. Broadcom's shares rose 69 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $27.83.