Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Broadcom: Qualcomm In Contempt, Again
Irvine-based Broadcom is continuing its patent skirmish with San Diego-based Qualcomm, saying Tuesday that Qualcomm has been held in contempt of an injunction entered into last December, covering the use, sale, and import of certain EV-DO chips. According to Broadcomm, Qualcomm has been ordered to retrieve the chips, and destroy them, or to pay Broadcom Qualcomm's gross profits on the sales. Broadcom also said that Qualcomm has failed to pay royalties on legacy EV-DO chips, also violating the injunction. Broadcom said in a statement that this is the second time that Qualcomm has been found in contempt of the same federal court injunction. Broadcom and Qualcomm have been engaged in an ongoing patent war, with multiple lawsuits over various patents owned by either firm. Broadcom sued Qualcomm over U.S. Patent No. 5,657,317 in the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., in May 2005.