A decision is in on one of the Qualcomm/Broadcom disputes; the jury determined that Qualcomm did infringe on Broadcom’s patent and owes almost $20 million. Under federal law, the judge can triple this amount if he finds that the infringement was “willful.” Whether that will happen, and whether an import ban will be imposed, is yet to be determined.
20M is a drop in the barrel for these companies. The simplest and probably the most cost effective solution is to license the technology in a settelement, and the issue is resolved.
»www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18939574/ Filings suggest that Qualcomm may need as much as two years to create a replacement technology bypassing Broadcom's patent. Not even Broadcom would be able to fill the void, says AT&T: "Handset offerings for 2007 have already been finalized for testing and launch, and none of these offerings includes handsets with Broadcom's chips," AT&T said in its May 18 filing.