Broadcom, Qualcomm Dispute Meaning of San Diego Injunction
A federal judge Fri. issued an injunction against Broadcom at Qualcomm’s request in the companies’ multifront war over CDMA technologies. The injunction, by U.S. Dist. Court Judge Rudi Brewster, San Diego, bars Broadcom from using, soliciting or distributing Qualcomm trade secrets, including source code. The companies interpretations of the action varied sharply. Qualcomm claimed a significant victory. Broadcom called the development a negotiated compromise with no effect on its business plan. The ruling’s text wasn’t made public immediately.
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It was a victory, Qualcomm Senior Vp William Sailer said: “We will defend our business against those who attempt to misappropriate the benefits of our extensive and continuous investment in research and innovation.” Qualcomm contested an earlier Broadcom news release claim that there had been no injunction, calling that erroneous. The injunction is “an important first step” in keeping Broadcom from misappropriating its trade secrets, at least through the trial, set to begin Oct. 2007.
The ruling arose from compromise on both sides, not a Qualcomm victory, Broadcom said in a statement, saying the stay won’t change its business plan because it “never used or had any desire or intention to use” at the trial the Qualcomm documents in question. Broadcom said Qualcomm had withdrawn its claims of source code theft at an Oct. 2 hearing after Broadcom “showed them to be false,” a company spokesman told Communications Daily. In fact, Broadcom said, “Brewster roundly rejected Qualcomm’s overreaching and anticompetitive attempt to shut down Broadcom’s 3G cellular chip business.” At the time, the judge said “a preliminary injunction as proposed by the Plaintiff would go way out and beyond [simple protection]. It would be an executive order of a rule-making kind of a revolutionary document in which Qualcomm would be controlling every breath that Broadcom takes.”
Broadcom recently saw its case against Qualcomm thrown out of a N.J. court. The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office agreed last week to reexamine a patent for computer chips owned by Broadcom. A Qualcomm spokeswoman said the injunction, not yet filed officially by our deadline, would be made public “soon.”
The EU will investigate Qualcomm on overcharging manufacturers, Reuters reported it told the company and European carriers Mon. A royalty-rates investigation could subject Qualcomm to stiff penalties if it’s convicted of unfair price hikes on 3G mobile video technology royalties. Matsushita Electric, Nokia, Broadcom, NEC, Texas Instruments and Ericsson complained to the EC that Qualcomm charges the same for newer technology as it did for older technology, though the new technology is a much smaller part of the handset than predecessors. Qualcomm said its customers are fighting to preserve profits in an increasingly competitive handset market.