Qualcomm gets a stay on ban of its chip imports
Qualcomm yesterday announced in a press release that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has granted their requests for a stay against a previous Internation Trade Commission (ITC) order that had
banned imports of cell phones that use Qualcomm's chips. The ITC had ruled on a complaint brought by Broadcom, which accused Qualcomm of violating certain of their patents that they held on 3G technology. The ban has
previously been upheld by another appeals court and a request to President Bush that he set the ban aside
was refused.
The ITC's order effects any handsets using the infringing technology that were introduced after the order was announced. Handsets that were already available before the ban were not effected. Qualcomm was joined in their request for a stay by handset manufacturers and carriers that are effected, including Verizon AT&T, Motorola and Samsung. Some of these co-litigants, like Verizon, have already agreed to licensing terms with Broadcom, but Qualcomm has yet to do so. The stay announced today will reduce Broadcom's leverage in their negotiations with Qualcomm.
