A federal jury found that Qualcomm (QCOM) infringes on three Broadcom (BRCM) patents.
Due to the IP issues with cellular baseband chips and software made by Qualcomm, a jury awarded BRCM over $19 million. According to The Associated Press: "The jury of six women and three men, sitting in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., also found that the three patents are valid and that Qualcomm’s infringement was willful, allowing the court to increase the damages up to three times the amount awarded by the jury."
Wall St. can count on the fact that Broadcom will rub it in and ask that Qualcomm be blocked from using the technology.
The loss adds to a list of problems that Qualcomm is coming. Earlier today, Nokia (NOK) said that its patent and licensing disputes with Qualcomm could lead to delays in some 3G deployments. That could cost both companies money.
Some investors will say the court decision could have been worse, but not much.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.
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