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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JGoren who wrote (33979)	7/3/1999 10:00:00 AM
From: CDMQ	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 152472

Here we go again? Qualcomm is hit with new patent rights suit GTE alleges unauthorized use of phone technology By Mike Drummond STAFF WRITER July 3, 1999 Qualcomm, which recently fended off one patent-infringement lawsuit from an offshore rival, now finds itself drawn into another on the home front. GTE Wireless, one of the nation's five largest service providers, is suing Qualcomm for alleged unauthorized use of patented technology in mobile phones. In a federal lawsuit filed this week in Virginia, GTE said some Qualcomm phones use a GTE technology that prevents cellular phones from connecting to unwanted service providers when customers wander or "roam" outside a normal service area. The so-called '728 patent, short for the company's U.S. Patent No. 4,916,728, is valuable to GTE because the technology directs cell phones to connect with service providers with which it has reciprocal billing agreements. GTE said Qualcomm's use of the technology could allow competing carriers to block out GTE service in the Virginia market, in effect turning its own technology against it. "Qualcomm's unauthorized use of the '728 patent provides it and its customers with an unfair competitive advantage," stated the complaint, a copy of which was obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune. GTE said Qualcomm was aware of the patent through its involvement with various wireless standards-setting bodies, but used the technology in question anyway. "Qualcomm's infringement has been willful and deliberate," the complaint said. The lawsuit marks the first time a major domestic carrier has sued the San Diego company, and trails the far-reaching patent-infringement settlement Qualcomm reached with Swedish rival Ericsson in March. That settlement was widely seen as a victory for Qualcomm, boosting its stock price and potentially positioning the company's code division multiple access, or CDMA wireless technology, to become a global standard -- representing to mobile phones what Windows is to personal computers. In the settlement, Ericsson agreed to purchase a money-losing business unit from Qualcomm, and to pay it continued royalties for CDMA-based products. Now, Georgia-based GTE either wants Qualcomm to enter a licensing agreement, or wants an injunction preventing the San Diego company and competing service providers from using the technology. GTE also is asking for unspecified monetary damages. Qualcomm spokeswoman Christine Trimble said yesterday that the company had just received the complaint. She declined further comment. GTE said it selected Virginia as its legal battleground because it represents a $100 million market and is home to about 350,000 GTE subscribers. GTE noted that it is not currently using its patented technology in Virginia, but plans to later this year. Ironically, GTE Wireless is among nine original partners that will use services provided by San Diego-based Wireless Knowledge, the Qualcomm-Microsoft joint venture that lets various types of portable devices access information housed on corporate desktop computers. "This is a suit dealing with a specific patent-infringement case," said GTE Wireless spokeswoman Susan Asher. "This should not apply to any other relationships we have with Qualcomm." Copyright 1999 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.