Qualcomm Held in Contempt of Injunction on 3G Cellular Products

Broadcom has announced that a federal judge yesterday found Qualcomm in contempt of an injunction entered last December that was designed to prevent Qualcomm from continued infringement of two Broadcom patents.

As to Broadcom's U.S. Patent No. 5,657,317, the injunction prohibits Qualcomm from making, using, selling, offering for sale, importing, and developing certain EV-DO chips. The injunction also provides a sunset period during which Qualcomm can continue to sell legacy EV-DO chips to legacy customers until January 31, 2009, provided that it pays a royalty to Broadcom.

Broadcom says that U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna found that Qualcomm violated both provisions of the injunction by selling and offering to sell enjoined EV-DO chips and by failing to pay royalties on legacy EV-DO chips.

With regard to the sales of enjoined EV-DO chips, and citing the "egregiousness" of Qualcomm's conduct, the court ordered Qualcomm to retrieve the chips and destroy them or, if it is unable to do so, to pay Broadcom Qualcomm's gross profits on the sales. With regard to the sales of legacy chips to legacy customers, the court ordered Qualcomm to pay past royalties, plus a penalty. The court further ordered Qualcomm to take remedial steps to prevent further violations of the injunction, and awarded Broadcom its attorney fees.

"This is the second time that Qualcomm has been found in contempt of the same federal court injunction," said David Rosmann, Broadcom's Vice President, Intellectual Property Litigation. "Qualcomm's ongoing contempt reflects a remarkable disregard for a system meant to protect intellectual property rights."

Broadcom filed its infringement case against Qualcomm in the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., in May 2005.

Posted to the site on 18th November 2008