SAN DIEGO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Wireless communications technology company Qualcomm
Inc. (NasdaqNM:QCOM - news) on Tuesday said it prevailed in three challenges to its
patents in Korea and Europe, initiated by mobile phone maker Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT
- news).
Qualcomm said in two cases the Korean Intellectual Property Office upheld patents related to its proprietary CDMA wireless
standard. Qualcomm derives most of its revenue from licensing CDMA, which stands for Code Division Multiple Access.
The patents that had been challenged in Korea related to the way that CDMA mobile phones transmit data and control the
power of transmissions to overcome problems with fading and interference.
Challenges to patents in the telecommunications industry have become commonplace in European and Asian markets.
Qualcomm's patents have been opposed by Motorola, the No. 2 mobile phone maker, telecom equipment maker Ericsson ,
No.1 mobile phone maker Nokia Corp. (NYSE:NOK - news), electronics group Siemens AG and telecommunications group
Alcatel ,a company spokeswoman said.
In a Dec. 5 decision, the European Patent Office also upheld the validity of a Qualcomm's patents on a CDMA processor in a
separate dispute by Motorola, the company said.
``We are pleased that our patents continue to be upheld by patent offices worldwide, demonstrating the strength and necessity
of QUALCOMM's CDMA patent portfolio,'' Ben Miller, Qualcomm's chief patent strategist, said in a statement.
In a separate release, Qualcomm subsidiary SnapTrack, Inc. said it had been granted a U.S. patent, which describes a way of
using a computer network to locate a wireless device, such as a telephone, on a digital map or other display.
Shares of Qualcomm rose $3-15/32 or 4.6 percent to $78-29/32, their highest levels in 2 weeks. Qualcomm's stock has fallen
from $97-1/2 in early December, but remains higher than its 12-month low of $51-1/2 from July. |
