Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Qualcomm Countersues Broadcom

San Diego-based Qualcomm has filed a countersuit against Irvine-based Broadcom alleging patent infringement on the company's GSM/GPRS and Wi-Fi patents. Qualcomm said that it has filed suit against Broadcom in federal court in San Diego for infringement of seven of its patents. The patents cover the manufacture and use of equipment with the GSM, GPRS, and EDGE celluar standards, as well as patents covering interoperability in Wi-Fi. The lawsuit comes as Broadcom has charged Qualcomm with unfair trade practices in its own lawsuit. Qualcomm is seeking an injunction against Broadcom for the manufacture and sale of the products, as well as monetary damages. Broadcom filed suit against Qualcomm early this month claiming that its patent licensing practices violate U.S. antitrust laws, and that Qualcomm collects discriminatory royalties, double royalties, and demands overly broad patent licensing rights of its licensees.