QCOM sues Ericsson.
So what does everyone make of this??
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM)
today announced that it has filed suit in the United States District Court for
the Southern District of California against Ericsson, Inc. and
Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson ("Ericsson"), Civil Action No. 962064 K(CGA).
The complaint alleges unfair competition by Ericsson based on a pattern of
conduct intended to impede the acceptance and commercial deployment of
QUALCOMM's Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology and products by the
telecommunications industry. The pattern of conduct, as alleged in the
complaint, includes publication by Ericsson of false and disparaging
statements about QUALCOMM's CDMA technology and the assertion by Ericsson of
baseless claims of patent infringement against QUALCOMM's CDMA products.
QUALCOMM's complaint also charges that Ericsson's patent infringement claims
violate a 1989 nondisclosure agreement between the two companies in which
Ericsson expressly acknowledged that key elements of QUALCOMM's CDMA
technology, such as soft handoff, power control, and multiple receivers to
mitigate multipath interference, were proprietary to QUALCOMM. In addition,
QUALCOMM's lawsuit seeks a judicial declaration that certain of Ericsson's
patents are not infringed by QUALCOMM and are invalid.
QUALCOMM also today announced that it had filed a motion to intervene in a
lawsuit filed by OKI America, Inc. ("OKI") against Ericsson in the United
States District Court for the Northern District of California, Civil Action
No. C-96 20747. The OKI lawsuit, filed on September 10, 1996, alleges that
nine Ericsson patents are invalid and not infringed by CDMA products made and
sold by OKI.
In QUALCOMM's motion to intervene, the Company states that OKI's CDMA
products were made under license from QUALCOMM, that QUALCOMM has supplied OKI
with CDMA ASICs (application specific integrated circuits) which OKI has used
in those products, and thus that QUALCOMM has a strong interest in joining
with OKI to establish that Ericsson's patents are invalid and not infringed by
the licensed CDMA technology.
Headquartered in San Diego, QUALCOMM develops, manufactures, markets,
licenses and operates advanced communications systems and products based on
its proprietary digital wireless technologies. The Company's primary product
areas are the OmniTRACS(R)system (a geostationary satellite-based, mobile
communications system providing two-way data and position reporting services),
CDMA wireless communications systems and products and, in conjunction with
others, the development of the Globalstar(TM) low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite
communications system. Other Company products include the Eudora Pro(TM)
electronic mail software, ASIC products, and communications equipment and
systems for government and commercial customers worldwide. For more
information on QUALCOMM products and technologies, please visit the Company's
web site at <QUALCOMM, OmniTRACS and Eudora are registered trademarks and Eudora Pro is
a trademark of QUALCOMM Incorporated. Globalstar is a trademark of
Globalstar, L.P.
SOURCE QUALCOMM, Inc.
CONTACT: Julie Cunningham, Corporate Communications, 619-658-4224, or
juliec@qualcomm.com, or Molly Foerster, Investor Relations, 619-658-4844, or
mfoerster@qualcomm.com, both of QUALCOMM, Inc. |
