SAN DIEGO, CA—QUALCOMM, Inc., a developer of code-division multiple access (CDMA) and other advanced wireless technologies, stated that a federal jury in San Diego has found that Broadcom did not infringe two of QUALCOMM's patents related to video encoding, although the jury ruled that the patents are valid. The two patents are US Patents Nos. 5,452,104 and 5,576,767 relating to techniques for compressing digital video signals for more efficient storage or transmission which QUALCOMM had alleged were infringed by Broadcom's integrated circuits (ICs) for use in high-definition set-top cable- and satellite-television boxes and certain other high-definition video equipment. QUALCOMM does not currently have a licensing program for this product area. Consequently, the jury's verdict will have no impact on QUALCOMM's existing licensing business.
In addition, the jury provided an adverse advisory verdict on two issues that, by law, must ultimately be decided by the trial judge: whether QUALCOMM had waived its rights to enforce either of these patents against Broadcom by virtue of QUALCOMM's participation in a video standards-setting body, and whether QUALCOMM had engaged in conduct before the Patent Office during the application process that would render either of the patents unenforceable. The judge has not yet set a schedule for his decision regarding these issues.
"We appreciate the difficult task that the jury faced in trying to understand the complex technical issues in the case, and are pleased that they found that our patents are valid," comments Lou Lupin, QUALCOMM's executive vice president and general counsel. "We disagree with the remainder of the jury's findings and are quite disappointed with the advisory votes. We have prosecuted thousands of patent applications in the US Patent Office over the past two decades and have worked very hard to be candid and forthright in all of our dealings there. Similarly, we have carefully followed the rules and IPR policies of the many standard setting organizations in which we participate. Standards are very important to our business, and the integrity of standard setting organizations matters to us very much. We believe a careful examination of the facts does not support either of the jury's advisory verdicts."
This case is only the first of QUALCOMM's four patent-infringement lawsuits against Broadcom that are to be tried before the end of this summer. QUALCOMM also has a case pending against Broadcom for misappropriating QUALCOMM's trade secrets.
For further information, see QUALCOMM's website at www.qualcomm.com