Bush upholds ITC ban

In another crushing blow to Qualcomm, the Bush Administration yesterday upheld the U.S. International Trade Commission ruling that banned the import of certain cell phones containing Qualcomm 1xEV-DO and WCDMA chip sets. The ITC previously ruled that the chips infringed on Broadcom patents.

The ban, which goes into effect today, means that some operators may have difficulty getting new phones that contain the chips. Sprint will probably feel the most immediate impact from the ban. Verizon circumvented the problem by cutting a deal with Broadcom last month in which it will pay up to $200 million to ensure that it can still import handsets.  

Qualcomm has responded to the news by saying that it will pursue the appeal and stay request with the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. The company says that it is using alternative software designed to workaround the ban and that this solution will avert any possible disruption during the fourth-quarter holiday buying season. 

For the latest on the ITC ban:
- see this AP article
- see this BusinessWeek article

For a recap of Fierce's coverage on the ban, see these related articles:
VZW inks Broadcom deal, won't fight ITC ban. Article
CTIA outlines impact of Qualcomm ban. Article
ITC ban detrimental to Qualcomm, wireless industry. Editor's Corner
ITC may ban all EVDO handsets imported to the U.S. Feature