Broadcom Gets Boost in GPS Patent Lawsuit

Broadcom has announced today that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has affirmed an ITC administrative law judge's initial determination that SiRF Technology Holdings infringes three additional GPS-related patents held by Global Locate, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Broadcom.

The ITC issued an exclusion order against SiRF's infringing GPS chips and products containing these chips imported by certain SiRF customers and cease and desist orders against SiRF and specified SiRF customers.

The Commission's latest ruling brings the total number of Global Locate GPS-related patents that SiRF has been found to infringe up to six.

Last year, an ITC administrative law judge found that SiRF infringed all six patents asserted by Global Locate, and the Commission subsequently upheld the administrative law judge's finding on three patents, while holding off on a Final Determination on the other three pending further review in part. On Thursday, the Commission issued both its Final Determination on those patent issues, and orders regarding the appropriate form of remedy.

"We are pleased that the Commission affirmed the judge's findings that SiRF infringed all six patents asserted by Global Locate," said David Rosmann, Broadcom's Vice President, Intellectual Property Litigation. "We are optimistic that the ITC orders will become effective after a 60-day statutory review period so that U.S. Customs may begin enforcement and prevent any further patent infringement."

The Commission's Final Determination comes after a two week trial last year and a subsequent determination by ITC Administrative Law Judge Carl C. Charneski that SiRF infringes six GPS-related patents held by Global Locate. The six patents that SiRF was found to infringe are United States patents 6,417,801; 6,937,187; 6,606,346; 7,158,080; 6,704,651; and 6,651,000 -- relating to extended ephemeris assistance (Long Term Orbits), calculating time in GPS receivers, enhancing sensitivity in assisted GPS systems, and implementing hardware structures for parallel correlation.

In addition to the ITC action, Broadcom's claims that SiRF's multimedia processors and GPS receivers infringe four Broadcom patents are moving forward in the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif. Trial is scheduled to begin in November 2010.

Posted to the site on 16th January 2009