Skip to main content

Qualcomm In Contempt of Broadcom Injunction

Qualcomm In Contempt of Broadcom Injunction

U.S. District Judge James Selna has found that telecommunications gear maker Qualcomm has violated an injunction by continuing to use and support WCDMA chips in its QChat walkie-talkie products that allegedly infringe on three Broadcom patents. Now, Qualcomm will have to pay Broadcom the gross profits from the sale of those devices, as well as attorneys’ fees from the contempt proceedings.

"Over the past two years, Qualcomm has been found to have infringed four Broadcom patents, abused the standards-setting process, and committed gross discovery misconduct, and now has been held in contempt of a court-ordered injunction," said Broadcom intellectual property VP David Rosmann, in a statement. "Qualcomm’s conduct demonstrates a startling lack of respect for its competitors’ intellectual property, industry standards-setting processes, and the courts."

Qualcomm notes the court found it its favor on most of the issues alleged in Broadcom’s complaint, and plans an appeal to dispute the court’s rulings against it.

Qualcomm’s QChat service debuted on Sprint’s network earlier this year, although available figures for Qualcomm’s revenue stream from the service are somewhat contradictory. Reuters says Qualcomm has received more than $90 million from Sprint for the service.

Broadcom won the injunction against Qualcomm’s WCMDA products at the beginning of 2008.

Editors' Recommendations

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X35 will bring 5G to your next smartwatch
Qualcomm Snapdragon X35.

Qualcomm is poised to deliver 5G capabilities to a whole new class of mobile devices with a new modem chip that bridges the gap between today's best smartphones and much lower-bandwidth devices like payment terminals and home accessories.

Announced today, Qualcomm's Snapdragon X35 5G Modem-RF system is the world's first to adopt NR-Light, a new 5G standard for midtier devices that don't require the power and performance of a 5G-capable smartphone or tablet — but can still take advantage of the lower latency and power consumption offered by 5G technology.
Filling the 5G void

Read more
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 and 4 Gen 1 chips are big deals for cheap phones
qualcomm snapdragon 6 gen 1 4 news new chips

Following in the footsteps of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, Qualcomm has today introduced two low-end mobile processors that add the “Gen” naming mantra to the Snapdragon 400 and 600 series. Alongside a few notable upgrades in the camera and connectivity departments, Qualcomm's latest chips have a lot going for them.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
First in line is the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, which takes over the mid-tier reins from the Snapdragon 695. Interestingly, this chip is based on the 4nm fabrication process, making it one of the first non-flagship mobile processors to rely on the 4nm die that offers better performance and higher energy efficiency. In comparison, Apple’s A15 Bionic inside the iPhone 13 series is based on TSMC’s 5nm process.

Qualcomm claims that the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 is the first chip in the series to bring computational HDR video capture chops to the table. It’s also the first in the family to get the new 7th Gen AI engine that brings a 3x performance uptake for AI and ML-based tasks. Motorola is among the first brands to embrace the new Qualcomm chip, while phones powered by it will hit the shelves early next year.

Read more
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 flagship chip is coming this November
1290537 autosave v1 2 qualcomm snapdragon 845

Qualcomm has announced the dates for the Snapdragon Summit 2022. As rumored, the event will take place earlier than its usual timeline in November. It will run from November 15 to November 17. At the Summit, Qualcomm will showcase its latest and greatest innovations for the year ahead, along with its flagship chipset. Last year, it was the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset that made headlines with the new naming scheme. As such, it's likely that Qualcomm will follow the line to name the next processor as Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

The tech giant revealed the information on its official website with a brief clip. The video proclaims that its viewers should get ready for the next wave of tech at Qualcomm’s biggest showcase of the year. COVID-19 didn’t allow for in-person events in 2020, but just like last year, the Snapdragon Summit is returning to Hawaii for 2022. While we don’t have the lineup of the products expected at the event, it’s certain that we will see the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.

Read more