Qualcomm still fighting chip ban

Qualcomm was in court yesterday, pleading with a federal judge to lift a ban upheld by the Bush administration that bars them from selling phones that contain chips that allegedly infringe on a patent owned by Broadcom.

While it would normally be difficult for Qualcomm to win such a patent case, a statement by Broadcom Chairman Henry Smueli might play to their favor. He claimed that the company does not sell chips in the US, which might be detrimental to their argument that they would “suffer irreparable harm” if Qualcomm continued selling its chips. Broadcom does have a deal with Verizon to use the chips, but no such agreement exists with any other US wireless carrier.

There is a deal on the table that would pay Broadcom 6 percent of Qualcomm sales of certain chips, but Qualcomm is still pursuing a path that would allow them to freely sell phones with the chips. The trial, which began yesterday, could spill into next week.

[Washington Post]

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