Jer,
BRCM short, I am hearing that this will give BRCM some more problems this month. From late July
CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 6:43 PM ET July 20, 2001
IRVINE, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- An administrative law judge for the U.S. International Trade Commission has ruled that Broadcom has infringed on two patents held by Intel, Intel said Friday.
If the ITC approves the ruling, Broadcom (BRCM: news, chart, profile) will not be able to import the networking chips, made by its subsidiary Altima Communications, on which the case centers.
"These are products and techniques that are protected by patents and intellectual property," said Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy. "Our view has always been that we have an obligation to our shareholders to protect our intellectual property, and that's why we brought this action."
The ruling stems from a case Intel brought against Altima Communications, which was then purchased last year by Broadcom. The ruling found that two of the three patents Intel cited were infringed upon. Mulloy said one of the patents applied to packaging the chips and the other applied to communication-chip design.
But Broadcom emphasized that the products covered in the ruling are older Altima products that are in "small and declining" markets and do not affect any new products made by Altima or Broadcom.
"This decision, even if adopted, does not have a material impact on the business or the product lines of any of Altima's customers," said Tom Jarvis, a lawyer for Broadcom.
The judge's ruling now goes to the full commission, which has 90 days to approve it.
"At this stage, we're assuming that the committee will ratify the determination," Mulloy said.
But Broadcom doesn't agree.
"We would anticipate that the commission will use the judge's ruling as a starting point, correct what we believe were some errors and then issue a decision on Oct. 23," Jarvis said.
Broadcom and Intel will most likely meet in court again, as Mulloy said Intel (INTC: news, chart, profile) has a separate patent-infringement case pending against Broadcom, scheduled to go to trial in the fall, that involves communications products. |
