Broadcom wins appeal for 2005 anti-trust lawsuit against Qualcomm

So, back in the day, before all the Qualcomm/Broadcom intellectual property rights battles, Broadcom (NSDQ: BRCM) filed suit against Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) for failing to uphold their commitment to licensing WCDMA technology for a fair and reasonable price. The July 2005 lawsuit basically charged Qualcomm of the same thing that is going on right now – InterDigital/Nokia, Nokia/Qualcomm, Qualcomm/Broadcom – they’re all looking for the courts to force the other side to give in to their respective licensing demands.

In August of 2006 Qualcomm’s move to have the case dismissed was granted, leaving Broadcom one last appeals to a federal court.

Today, a federal appeals court just overturned that decision to dismiss the case against Qualcomm. The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit stated that Qualcomm’s licensing practices in this matter “is actionable anticompetitive conduct.” Although, the dismissal of two of Broadcom’s claims were upheld.

This gives Broadcom another way to tighten the squeeze on Qualcomm. They can now pursue the lawsuit, giving them more leverage in the ongoing legal battle between the two chip-making giants. It’s a good thing Qualcomm is doing well with its other 3G technologies.

[Via: Wall Street Journal]