Thursday, September 13, 2007

Qualcomm Gets Stay

San Diego-based Qualcomm has received a brief reprieve in its legal battles against Broadcom, saying Wednesday evening that it has received a stay pending appeal of the International Trade Commission (ITC) ban on importation of handsets that use some of its chips into the United States. The ITC had rules in June that Qualcomm chips were found to infringe upon a Broadcom patent, and had ordered the ban on imports on future phone models using the technology. Qualcomm said that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has granted a stay, which will allow those handsets into the United States. Handset makers who use the chips include Kyocera Wireless, Motorola, Samsung Electronics, Sanyo Fisher, T-Mobile, LG Electronics, and AT&T. Last month, President Bush declined to overrule the ITC ban order; the President is allowed to veto ITC rulings for 60-days following an ITC order.