Qualcomm Seeks Stay, Veto of ITC Patent Decision
Qualcomm said it will join wireless carriers in asking the U.S. Appeals Court, Federal Circuit, to stay an International Trade Commission order banning import of new wireless handsets with Qualcomm chips held to infringe a Broadcom patent. Qualcomm also will ask President Bush to veto the decision, the company said. CTIA blasted the move as bad for consumers, saying it will slow 3G network rollouts. COMCARE and the Assn. of Public Safety Communications Officials said the order will hurt efforts to make 911 more accurate. ITC in a “split-the-baby decision” Thurs. said the ban will apply to future handset models (CD June 8 p8), but not those already being imported.
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Broadcom, which didn’t develop an EV-DO solution and failed to sell its WCDMA products, sued Qualcomm in an attempt to “attack the U.S. cellular industry, even though Broadcom has never accused any wireless manufacturers or operators of infringement or any other wrongdoing,” Qualcomm said. Giving Broadcom what it wants would hurt the public interest in a manner “grossly disproportionate to any benefit flowing to Broadcom from such broad enforcement of a recently-purchased patent,” Qualcomm said: “Broadcom does not make or sell EV-DO chips, and Broadcom’s claims that it can supply WCDMA products for the United States have been rebuffed by WCDMA operators in submissions the operators made to the ITC.”
“We will ask the White House to veto this decision and avoid turning back the clock on the tremendous gains that have been achieved in mobile broadband communications, disaster preparedness and emergency response,” said Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs, calling the order a peril to efforts by the wireless industry and public safety community to develop “robust interoperable networks for first responders.”
David Dull, Broadcom gen. counsel, said the ITC was following “the letter and spirit of their charter” to protect American products from unfair trade practices. “In this case, Qualcomm and its customers have been importing products that use Broadcom’s valuable intellectual property without permission,” he said: “We have been forced to seek redress in the ITC and the courts because Qualcomm has repeatedly refused to recognize the value of Broadcom’s patented technology.”
Patent lawyer Susan Pan told us Fri. that the ITC tried to find middle ground, recognizing the decision would affect millions. Pan, whose firm isn’t involved in the case, expects Qualcomm to ask the Federal Circuit for a stay while working with Customs to make sure that permitted devices are allowed into the U.S., she said. President Bush is unlikely to veto the ITC decision, especially since it strives to serve public safety, Pan said. Qualcomm could pursue a license or technical work-around of the patent. Qualcomm could ask the Federal Circuit to rule on the merits, but that lengthy process would offer no guarantee of success, she said.
“The first course is trying to put as many of their products on the no-bar list as they can,” Pan said: “The whole idea of the patent is not to bar technology… Ultimately what [the ITC] is trying to do is get everyone to innovate at even higher levels and get the patent.”
Wireless carriers and safety officials called the ITC ruling bad news for consumers. It “unnecessarily decreases competition, and denies millions of consumer’s access to innovative wireless broadband products,” CTIA said: “This decision… could have the unintended effect of impairing the wireless industry’s efforts to improve communications in areas such as public safety. Consumers should not have to pay the price for a legal debate that could be settled by other means.”
APCO said the order will complicate efforts to make 911 more reliable, calling it “a major obstacle for most wireless subscribers seeking to upgrade their wireless handsets to newer models that will allow for much more accurate, GPS-based location capabilities.” As a contrast, APCO cited a recent FCC notice of proposed rulemaking issued on improvements in safety entities’ ability to locate wireless customers dialing 911.
COMCARE agreed: “The FCC’s mandate last week to improve wireless E911 accuracy will be undermined by this ill-conceived ITC order. Americans place over 230,000 calls to 9-1-1 over their cell phones each day. The ITC order is halting improvements in accuracy.”