Richardson, Texas is a suburb of Dallas and the home of Texas Instruments. Ericy has a lot of facitilities there as well as in East Texas. The case was not actually filed in Richardson, because Richardson is located in Dallas County, Texas, which is in the venue of the U.S. District Court for Northern District of Texas. The case was filed in the Eastern District. Richardson borders Collin County (Plano, another major suburb, which is in the Eastern District. The suit is actually pending in federal court in Marshall, Texas. I don't know which judge it's assigned to.
Ericy filed suit in Marshall, Texas. Qualcomm filed suit for patent infringement in San Diego federal district court. Later in 1997, Ericy and Qcom entered into what I call a "standstill" agreement by which Ericy agreed that it would not for 7 months sell any cdma product in the United States without first signing a license with Qcom or giving Qcom 30 days' notice. Many of us shareholders were hopeful that the "standstill" agreement would lead to a license agreement. Towards the end of 1997, Ericy's rhetoric toned down quite a bit, which gave us more hope that the companies would make a business compromise, but nothing happened.
There are a lot of posts on SI in the time frame mentioned below. Here are some things I have located at the Qualcomm web site "press room"
>>>>>>>>MARCH 20, 1997
QUALCOMM Files Lawsuit Against Ericsson for CDMA Patent Infringement
SAN DIEGO -- March 20, 1997 -- QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) announced today that it has sued Ericsson, Inc. for patent infringement based on recent public statements by Ericsson that it intends to offer Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) handsets for sale in the United States cellular market within a matter of months.
QUALCOMM's lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Diego, charges Ericsson with infringement of seven QUALCOMM patents which cover essential features of handsets that meet the specifications of the United States CDMA cellular telecommunications standard known as IS-95A or the standard for the new PCS wireless services known as ANSI J-STD-008.
QUALCOMM holds patents essential to practice both standards and to the manufacture and sale of handsets for use in systems compatible with the standards.
An Ericsson company is a licensee under QUALCOMM's patents for the manufacture of handsets for use in the GlobalstarT satellite communications system, but Ericsson has not been granted a license by QUALCOMM for cellular, PCS or other terrestrial applications
>>>>>>>>APRIL 16, 1997
QUALCOMM Responds To Misleading Ericsson Press Release
SAN DIEGO -- April 16, 1997 -- QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today responded to a misleading press release issued by Ericsson which implied that QUALCOMM's unfair competition and related claims had been dismissed on the merits by the federal court in San Diego. The San Diego court's order, publicly filed on April 9, 1997, makes clear that the dismissal is for the purpose of consolidating QUALCOMM's claims with Ericsson's lawsuit against QUALCOMM pending in federal court in Marshall, Texas and states "no apparent bar exists to QUALCOMM pursuing the claims alleged in this case in the Texas action." The Court decided to dismiss the case and require QUALCOMM to bring its claims in Texas for reasons of judicial economy. The court reasoned: "To proceed with this complex and expensive litigation in multiple forums would waste the resources of both parties and this Court."
"Ericsson's misleading press release, which incorrectly characterizes a week-old procedural ruling, and the calculated effect it would have on QUALCOMM's stock confirms what is alleged in our complaint: that Ericsson appears intent on injuring QUALCOMM and hindering the deployment of the Company's CDMA technology and products in any way that it can," said Steve Altman, QUALCOMM's senior vice president and general counsel. "Ericsson's latest action is further confirmation that QUALCOMM's claims of unfair competition are well taken and will form another element of our proof and damages. The Court's ruling has no bearing on Ericsson's claims against QUALCOMM or on the merits of QUALCOMM's claims against Ericsson, and we remain confident that QUALCOMM will prevail in both disputes."
>>>>>>>>>>JUNE 6, 1997
QUALCOMM and Ericsson Settle One of Their Several Lawsuits
SAN DIEGO -- June 6, 1997 -- QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) and Ericsson, Inc. have settled one of several lawsuits pending between the companies. The agreement was filed today in federal court in San Diego and resolves the patent infringement lawsuit which QUALCOMM filed against Ericsson on March 20, 1997 in federal court in San Diego.
For the seven-month term of the agreement, Ericsson agreed that Ericsson and its affiliates will not make, sell, offer to sell, use, import or commercially introduce in the United States any CDMA subscriber products or equipment unless such products or equipment have been licensed by QUALCOMM or unless Ericsson first gives QUALCOMM thirty days notice of Ericsson's intended activity. Ericsson further represented and warranted that to date neither it nor its affiliates have made, used, manufactured, sold, or offered to sell such products in the United States, although Ericsson did not state whether it plans to make or sell CDMA subscriber products or equipment in the U.S. during or after the seven-month term of the agreement.
Based on Ericsson's agreements and representations, QUALCOMM dismissed without prejudice its patent infringement claims against Ericsson in the San Diego court, and Ericsson agreed that for the next seven months, Ericsson will not file any lawsuit against QUALCOMM or any of its customers or licensees related to Ericsson's actual or intended CDMA subscriber products or equipment without first giving QUALCOMM thirty days notice. The companies further stipulated that if any such lawsuit arises, it can proceed only in San Diego.
Today's agreement does not affect other litigation between the companies pending in Texas, nor does it impact a lawsuit filed last September against Ericsson by OKI America, Inc. in federal court in San Jose, California, in which OKI is seeking a judicial declaration that its CDMA products do not infringe certain patents of Ericsson. A decision on QUALCOMM's motion to intervene in the San Jose action is pending. |
