Broadcom

Broadcom wins round over Qualcomm in patent litigation

Jim Barthold — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:05:34 -0500

In the Energizer Bunny of litigation (it keeps going and going and going), Broadcom won a round in its running battle with Qualcomm over EVDO chip patent issues when a federal district court ruled that Qualcomm violated an injunction to stop using Broadcom technology or pay royalties.

Qualcomm had been allowed to continue to sell "legacy" EVDO chips until Jan. 31, 2009 as long as Broadcom got a royalty. U.S. District Court Judge James Selma decided that Qualcomm violated that agreement and ordered the chipmaker to make a full accounting of royalties to be paid to Broadcom and to chip in another 10 percent for interest.

Qualcomm was also ordered to destroy the rest of its non-legacy EVDO chips or pay Broadcom the gross profits on the sales. No doubt the ruling will be appealed and the two companies will continue a war that may only end when carriers no longer use EVDO.

For more
- see this article

Related articles
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Court ends ban on Qualcomm chips

Phil Goldstein — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:19:14 -0400

A federal appeals court vacated a ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission that banned the importation of certain 3G cell phones that carried Qualcomm chips.

In a punctuation to the long-running and bitter saga over patent infringements and the importation of chips, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., also vacated part of the ITC ruling that said Qualcomm was responsible for inducing infringement of a patent for chips held by rival Broadcom that allowed phones to operate on reduced power mode to extend battery life.

The ITC ruled in 2007 that Qualcomm had forced handset manufacturers to install Qualcomm chips and battery-saving software into their mobile devices. Kyocera, Motorola, Samsung, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA had backed Qualcomm in the dispute.

The court said Tuesday that the ITC had over-stepped its authority when it barred the companies from importing 3G phones with the infringing Qualcomm chips.

For more:
- see this article

Related Articles:
Qualcomm, Broadcom each gain in latest court rulings
Qualcomm slapped for violating Broadcom ban

Broadcom files another complaint against Qualcomm

Sue Marek — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:00:17 -0400

The never-ending patent battle between Broadcom and Qualcomm wages on. Yesterday Broadcom filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego seeking a declaratory judgment against Qualcomm because that firm's sales and licensing practices amount to patent misuse.

Specifically, the complaint said that Qualcomm's use of "exhausted" patents to control post-sale use of products results in a double recovery of royalties to Qualcomm. And it says that these practices constitute patent misuse.

Several patent cases between these two companies are still pending. These include the high-profile ITC decision last year that banned sales in the U.S of cellular phones that contain Qualcomm chips that infringe on Broadcom patents, which is still under appeal at the Federal Circuit; another case that was stayed by the Santa Ana court, which Broadcom may take to trial; as well as antitrust and litigation misconduct cases that Broadcom has filed against Qualcomm.

For more:
- see this article

Related articles:
Qualcomm, Broadcom each gain in latest court rulings
Qualcomm slapped for violating Broadcom ban

Qualcomm slapped for violating Broadcom ban

Sue Marek — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:22:40 -0400

The Qualcomm, Broadcom patent saga continues. Yesterday a Santa Ana, Calif., federal judge ruled Qualcomm violated an injunction on the use of Broadcom patents and he ordered the company to pay royalties on certain QChat push-to-talk revenue.

In the ruling, U.S. District Judge James Selna said there was "clear and convincing evidence" that Qualcomm was in contempt of a Dec. 31 order that he issued to prevent the company from infringing on three Broadcom patents. In May 2007 a jury found Qualcomm had infringed on the three Broadcom patents and it awarded $19.64 million in damages for past infringement in the case.

Qualcomm says it has already moved to a new version of the QChat software and wireless phones that no longer infringe on the patents. However, the company would not say how many wireless phones would be affected by the judge's order, nor would it provide an estimate of how much money the company owed to Broadcom for the profits from its QChat product line.

For more:
See this article

Related Articles:
Broadcom spat slows Sprint's QChat
Qualcomm has bad week on the patent front

Judge wants ban on devices with SiRF GPS chips

Sue Marek — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:32:29 -0400

According to Broadcom, U.S. administrative law judge Carl Charneski has recommended the International Trade Commission bar the import of devices equipped with GPS chips made by SiRF Technology because they infringe on six-GPS related patents held by Broadcom.

If the ban is enforced, it could affect a number of consumer electronics makers hoping to drive sales with GPS-enabled devices. SiRF supplies GPS technology to Garmin, which plans to release its Nuvifone handset in North America in the first half of 2009.

SiRF, which develops GPS chipsets, originally filed four patent infringement claims against Global Locate, which was acquired by Broadcom last summer, but the ITC dropped two of the claims before the trial.

For more:
- See this article

Related articles:
ITC rejects SiRF's GPS patent claims against Global Locate
Broadcom buys GPS chip maker Global Locate. Global Locate story

ITC rejects SiRF's GPS patent claims against Global Locate

Lynnette Luna — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:55:52 -0400

Broadcom said the U.S. International Trade Commission rejected SiRF Technology Holdings' assertions that two GPS patents were infringed on by Broadcom-owned company Global Locate. An administrative law judge with the ITC issued a preliminary determination after a trial in March in Washington, DC. SiRF, which develops GPS chipsets, had originally filed four patent infringement claims against Global Locate, which was acquired by Broadcom last summer, but the ITC dropped two of the claims before the trial.

Both Global Locate and Broadcom are involved in a number of patent disputes. Global Locate filed six patent infringement claims against SiRF last year within the ITC and four in the U.S. District Court. Last month, Broadcom filed four more against SiRF in U.S. District Court.

For more :
- read the WSJ (sub. req.)

Related stories:
Broadcom buys GPS chip maker Global Locate. Global Locate story
SiRF locates Intel deal. SiRF story

TI sees weakness in handset sales

Sue Marek — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:29:04 -0400

Texas Instruments tightened its second-quarter earnings forecast to 43 to 47 cents per share and the chipmaker forecast revenue of $3.33 billion to $3.46 billion for the quarter vs. analysts' consensus of $3.38 billion. In April, the company had forecast earnings per share of 42 to 48 cents and revenue of $3.24 billion to $3.5 billion.

TI executives told financial analysts that the cause for the adjustment is due to "unseasonably weak" wireless handset sales. However, analysts noted that TI is facing increased competition from other chip makers such as Broadcom.

For more:
- see this press release
- see this blog post

Related story:
Texas Instruments lowers profit forecast

Broadcom co-founder indicted on drug charges, backdating

Sue Marek — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:01:25 -0400

Broadcom co-founder and former CEO Henry T. Nicholas III has been indicted for possession and distribution of drugs, and backdating stock options, a scheme which ultimately caused the company to write down $2.2 billion in profits last year.

The indictment alleges that the Nicholas drugged business executives and Broadcom clients, hired prostitutes and maintained a drug warehouse. In addition, Nicholas, along with former Broadcom CFO William Ruehle, was indicted on charges relating to stock-option backdating. According to the indictment, the back-dating schemes allegedly involved offering employees the option to buy stock at a future price that failed to recognise its true value.

If convicted, the four narcotics charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail. The charges of stock-option backdating could add up to a sentence of 340 years for Nicholas and 370 years for Ruehle.

For more:
- see this AP story

Related stories:
SEC: Broadcom officials back-dated stock options.
FBI: Comverse execs gain $8M from backdating

Qualcomm-Broadcom spat slows Sprint's QChat

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:59:55 -0400

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. rejected Qualcomm's bid to lift an injunction that stopped it from selling chips found by a California jury to infringe on Broadcom patents. Qualcomm hoped to continue to sell its 3G chipsets for WCDMA while appealing the verdict. Sprint Nextel's attempt to intervene in the case on Qualcomm's behalf was also dismissed by the court.

"We are gratified that the U.S. Court of Appeals rejected Qualcomm's motion for a stay, leaving in force the injunction against Qualcomm's infringement issued by the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana," Broadcom General Counsel David Dull said in a statement.

Pali Research analyst Walter Piecyk said the news is not a cause for alarm for Sprint investors: "We caution investors from getting alarmed by this news as Sprint has already announced that its launch of QChat would be delayed and limited to 20 markets," Piecyk wrote in a research note. "The recently announced delay in QChat might be a surprise to some as the company repeatedly stated that it was on track for a Q1 launch despite evidence to the contrary that we unearthed in mid November."

For more on the news:
- read this article from the Washington Post

Qualcomm paid lobbyist $200K

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 07:59:55 -0400

Qualcomm paid Lent Scrivner & Roth $200,000 last year to lobby various federal agencies and government bodies. The firm lobbied the government on patent reform legislation, Broadcom's patent case against Qualcomm and telecommunication reform issues. Qualcomm paid the firm $100,000 during each half of 2007. Pete Leon, former legislative director for Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Richard Molen, a legislative director for former Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) were two of the lobbyists that worked on behalf of Qualcomm.

For more on Qualcomm's lobbying activities:
- read this article from the AP

Judge reverses ruling in Qualcomm lawyers case

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:59:55 -0500

U.S. District Judge Rudi Brewster will allow the six Qualcomm lawyers, who a magistrate sanctioned for their actions while representing Qualcomm in its patent suit with Broadcom last year, to defend themselves by citing private communications they had with Qualcomm. Qualcomm had previously convinced the judge that those communications were protected by attorney-client privilege, but Brewster changed his mind after learning that Qualcomm had introduced four statements from employees that criticized the services of its outside lawyers in the Broadcom case. The lawyers received the sanction after it came to light that thousands of documents relating to the Broadcom case were withheld from the court's proceedings.

For more on the ruling:
- read this WSJ article (sub req)

Trend: Wireless spats to spur patent regulation?

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:59:54 -0500

According to an interesting piece of analysis from the UK's Register, Broadcom CEO Scott McGregor told the publication that because of the recent increase in the number of patent lawsuits related to the wireless industry, patent regulation in the U.S. is ripe for change.

"Patent enforcement has gone too far," McGregor said at Mobile World Congress last week. "It's time to see an adjustment in roll-forward royalties, where people have a business model predicated on charging royalties several times on the same component."

The Broadcom vs. Qualcomm patent lawsuits last year were some of the highest profile spats for the industry, which makes McGregor's comments all the more interesting.

For more on the patent regulation trend:
- read this article from the Register

Expect Qualcomm and Nokia to remain miles apart

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 06:59:59 -0500

Qualcomm and Nokia remain miles apart when it comes to hammering out a new licensing deal for WCDMA technology, and given both of the company's stellar results in the fourth quarter, it doesn't appear progress will be made anytime soon.Ã‚Â Ã‚Â

Qualcomm and Nokia have been in negotiations since before April, when the original 2001 licensing deal expired. Nokia wants to pay less. Qualcomm wants the same royalty rate it had been getting from Nokia the past six years.

But emerging markets have been the primary target market for Nokia. Its strong fourth quarter was primarily attributed to its market dominance in key emerging markets such as China, India, the Middle East and Africa, where customers are buying cheap GSM devices. Nokia sold a record 133.5 million phones during the quarter and saw the strongest growth in the Middle East and Africa, where shipments were up 52.3 percent, while sales grew in APAC and China as well. Sales in North America and other mature markets, however, slid during the quarter.

Meanwhile, despite the Nokia overhang and its continued patent dispute with Broadcom, Qualcomm posted an 18-percent increase in quarterly profit and gave a positive outlook as the company is riding high on the demand for CDMA products. Samsung, a major Qualcomm licensee, has surpassed Motorola as the second-largest handset vendor. And struggling Motorola, which announced in September that it was going to remove Qualcomm from its 3G chip roadmap in favor of Freescale Semiconductor and Texas Instruments, has now run back to Qualcomm. Last week, Motorola announced it is broadening its relationship with Qualcomm by incorporating the company's chipsets in certain WCDMA handsets starting at the end of this year.

As long as both companies are thriving without a new deal, I don't see any incentive for either side to compromise. -Lynnette

ALSO NOTED: Broadcom's impressive Q4; China Mobile IDs prepaid subs; and much more...

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:59:50 -0500

> Broadcom's Q4 earnings beat expectations. Release

> China Mobile may start requiring IDs for previously anonymous prepaid users. Article

> Broadcom founders cited in court. Article

> Sony Ericsson targets the Indian market with two new handsets. Article

And Finally... Nokia to offer workers from Germany plant new jobs in Romania. Article

Judge sanctions six Qualcomm lawyers

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 06:59:55 -0500

A federal magistrate has sanctioned six Qualcomm attorneys for mishandling evidence in the company's patent case against Broadcom. U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Major reported the six lawyers to the California State Bar Association for an investigation into whether the lawyers violated any ethics. The judge did not sanction the 13 other Qualcomm attorneys involved in the case. Major also ordered Qualcomm to pay $8.5 million to Broadcom, however another federal judge had already ordered the company to pay that much for Broadcom's legal fees.

Major claimed that the lawyers' declarations and other evidence lead to "the inevitable conclusion that Qualcomm intentionally withheld tens of thousands of decisive documents from its opponent in an effort to win this case and gain a strategic business advantage over Broadcom," according to the judge's 48 page ruling.

For more on the sanctions:
- read this article from the Wall Street Journal

Related Articles:
Qualcomm's general counsel Lou Lupin resigns More
Qualcomm appoints new general counsel Article
Broadcom wins antitrust suit against Qualcomm Article

Qualcomm: Broadcom ruling smarts

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 06:59:57 -0500

Qualcomm expects an "immediate, short-term impact" from a U.S. federal court's ruling in favor of Broadcom in a patent case. Qualcomm is considering an appeal and other legal options including a motion to ask for more clarification as to the specifics of the ruling, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal and RCR News. The ruling included a permanent injunction against new sales of EV-DO chips, but Qualcomm can continue to sell the chips for 13 months as long as it pays royalties to Broadcom.

Last week, David Rosmann, Broadcom's vice president of intellectual property litigation, said he couldn't estimate how much Qualcomm might have to pay under the ruling. But he added that Broadcom was "very pleased" with the ruling. Some analysts have estimated that Qualcomm would have to pay up to 6.5 percent of the revenue received from the infringing chips.

For more on the case:
- read this report from the WSJ

Related Articles:
Court imposes injunction against some Qualcomm products Release
Federal court enjoins Qualcomm's 3G and PTT tech Release
Qualcomm nabs mobile chipset lead from TI Article
Appeals court rejects Qualcomm request Article

ALSO NOTED: Qualcomm to pay royalties for QChat; Harbinger ups Leap investment; and much more...

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 06:59:50 -0500

> Qualcomm must pay Broadcom royalty fees on QChat. Release and Release

> Harbinger investment group raises stake in Leap Wireless to 15 percent. Article

And Finally... Nokia has delayed the launch of its N-Gage gaming platform--again. Article (WSJ sub. req.)

2007: Not a Typical Year for Wireless

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 14:31:58 -0500

By Andrew Seybold

Those who write for organizations such as FierceMarkets are generally expected to write two columns at the end of each year-the first is a look back at the previous year and the second is about what lies ahead for the next year. This is the first part of my requisite two-column sequence.

2007 was a year of change for the wireless industry. There was the iPhone and the fanfare with which it was introduced, the almost instant price drop and the bragging rights about how many were sold in what period of time. Regardless of what you think of the iPhone and the AT&T deal, I believe that its introduction has already changed the wireless landscape for the better. Suddenly, real user interface improvements are coming from every wireless device vendor in the industry.

Next, of course, is Google's foray into wireless, first calling for open access, then saying it will bid in the 700 MHz auction. Google also introduced its free, open source operating system, Android, which is scheduled to be delivered on real devices sometime in late 2008. If Google does nothing more, it has changed the wireless industry. Verizon Wireless said it will be more open with its network starting in 2008 and Sprint and AT&T then said they were already open. The industry is still trying to define what open really means and how network operators can offer open access and still protect the integrity of their networks for the benefit of all of their customers, not just for the few with their demands. One thing is for sure: Open does not mean FREE! We will continue to pay for our access to these networks though, in fact, pricing models will change to reflect this new open access era.

No review of 2007 would be complete without a discussion of the multitude of lawsuits either settled or ongoing. Nokia, Qualcomm, Broadcom, RIM and many others are spending tons of money in legal fees in disputes about intellectual property rights, prior art, who is infringing upon whom and how much is a fair price to charge to license IP from the patent holder. This will spill over into 2008 and probably beyond. In the end, decisions about highly technical issues will be made by a non-technical judge and/or jury, based not on what they have come to understand about the technologies in question but rather whose attorneys can provide the least technical and understandable description of the issues.

2007 also saw more notebook computers built-in EV-DO and UMTS wireless data modems, and Qualcomm announced the Gobi world chipset for notebooks that provides all of these technologies in a single chipset. Notebook vendors can now build a single model, ship it anywhere in the world and know that there will be a wireless broadband network available for the customer.

Some realism began to creep into the Muni-Wi-Fi craze this year. EarthLink downsized and got rid of most of its muni-Wi-Fi team, San Francisco's muni-WiFi network was put on hold and several other cities cancelled their plans. Finally, the realities of muni systems using unlicensed spectrum with no sustainable business model are being acknowledged.

Meanwhile, in WiMAX land, 2007 ends with a real question mark in the United States. The Sprint/Clearwire nationwide partnership fell apart. Sprint has a new CEO, Dan Hesse. And Sprint's WiMAX network is in question. Are we or aren't we? Spin off? Continue to build? Build only to meet FCC build-out rules? Sell it off? Or what? Intel has to be very nervous. Its poster child for WiMAX may decide not to operate a WiMAX network after all, which could certainly affect the uptake in the rest of the world. But it will be up to Hesse to figure it all out, and my bet is that his package will be heavily incented to stop the bleeding, right the ship, cut churn and add more subscribers to the CDMA core network.

Clearwire and WiMAX had an IPO, the stock opened in the mid $20s, went up to a high in the low $30s and is now sitting at around $13 per share. After the IPO, they put into place a line of credit for yet another $billion in funds, and the uptake on their networks has not been great.

There were many other activities during 2007, but I have highlighted here the ones I believe will have the most impact on the industry moving forward. The last of these, of course, has to be the 700 MHz auctions the FCC authorized in August that will be held in January. The "C" block is the "open access block" and will draw the most bidders, the D block is an experiment in combining commercial and first responder networks and services, and the results of these auctions could have a far reaching effect on this industry for a long time.

To my thinking, the saddest thing for wireless in 2007 was that the Internet community did not come any closer to understanding the bandwidth differences between the wired Internet and wireless high-speed networks. Their vision is still for the Internet as we know it to become wirelessly enabled. I believe that the wireless Internet should be a different type of Internet based on smart networks and smart devices and not nearly as dependent on browsers.

2007 was full of surprises, but the demand for wireless continued to grow, as it will well into the future. What will 2008 have to offer? Stay tuned!

Andrew Seybold is an authority on technology and trends shaping the world of wireless mobility. A respected analyst, consultant, commentator, author and active participant in industry trade organizations, his views have influenced strategies and shaped initiatives for telecom, mobile computing and wireless industry leaders worldwide.

SPOTLIGHT: Rough year for Qualcomm?

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 06:59:52 -0500

At first blush it might seem like 2007 was a rough year for Qualcomm. Between losing a controversial ITC ruling regarding 3G phone patents to Broadcom that led to a subsequent ban on its phones from entering the U.S. to Verizon Wireless choosing LTE as its next-generation network technology, the year seemed like a bleak one for the company. However, Qualcomm's financial outlook is as strong as ever.

Atheros buys u-Nav for $54M

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:59:55 -0500

Following up on Broadcom's acquisition of Global Locate earlier this year, WiFi chipmaker Atheros just scooped up GPS chipmaker u-Nav for $54 million. Atheros products also include chipsets for WLAN, Bluetooth and PHS technology. Atheros points to a recent In-Stat forecast of the LBS market to help validate the acquisition: GPS-enabled mobile devices will grow from 180 million units in 2007 to 720 million units in 2011. Atheros will gain 54 u-Nav employees. Atheros will also manage the patent agreement between u-Nav and SiRF moving forward.

For more on the deal:
- read this press release