Broadcom, announced today that it has commenced federal litigation against Qualcomm, alleging that the San Diego-based company infringes 10 Broadcom patents related to wired and wireless communications and multimedia processing technologies.
“Broadcom was an early pioneer in a broad range of wired and wireless communications and multimedia technologies, and has enabled the convergence of digital video, digital audio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, storage, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and adaptive coding technologies in many markets, including advanced, multi-function cellular products and services,” said Scott McGregor, Broadcom’s President and CEO.
“We believe that Qualcomm’s current and next generation cellular baseband and radio frequency (RF) product lines infringe a number of our patents.”
In two complaints filed yesterday in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Broadcom is seeking unspecified monetary damages from Qualcomm as well as a permanent injunction barring the manufacture and sale of Qualcomm’s core suite of baseband and RF integrated circuits, including its multimedia, enhanced and convergence platform chips and its QChat(R) VoIP technology for cellular phones, which Broadcom alleges infringe its patents.
In related news, Microsoft, Dell, HP, Intel, Apple and Netgear are under the gun, reports ZD Net. It turns out that Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) says they were awarded a patent in 1996 for several IEEE wireless standards.
CSIRO claims that the technology covered by its patent is “now a standard feature of most notebook computers and many other devices”. “As part of our business we create high quality intellectual property, and we are prepared to defend it,” said Dr Geoff Garrett, chief executive of CSIRO.
