3G iPhone rivals to be barred from the country?
Home » 3G iPhone rivals to be barred from the country?
Qualcomm, the second largest manufacturer of mobile phone chips will be banned from new mobile phone models sold in the U.S. While Qualcomm seeks an emergency stay of the rulling from the Federal Circuit Court, as well as a presidential veto, the company, along with partners like Verizon Wireless must contemplate how this result will impact their business.
The ruling arises out of a patent dispute between Qualcomm and its smaller rival Broadcomm, and part of a broader dispute the began in 2004 when Broadcom announced that it would enter the larger mobile-phone market.
The prospect of the ban has elicted complaints from phone-service providers and handset makers LG Electronics, Motorola, Samsung, and Kyocera Corp. Noticeably absent from that line-up is the newly arriving Apple iPhone. The patent is only one of 150 patents and applications purchased by Broadcom in 2002 for $24 million dollars from Unova, Inc. (now Intermec Inc.).
According to government documents:
The chips and chipsets at issue are used in handheld wireless communications devices, including cellular telephone handsets, that are capable of operating on so-called third-generation ("3G") cellular telephone networks, i.e., EV-DO ("Evolution-Data Optimized") and WCDMA ("Wideband Code Division Multiple Access") networks such as those operated by Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T.
The Commission previously determined that certain Qualcomm chips and chipsets were imported in violation of U.S. law because they infringe a U.S. patent held by Broadcom; the patent relates to mobile device capabilities and power management. Under section 337, which is designed to protect and enforce U.S. intellectual property rights, the Commission must determine the appropriate remedy to address this violation.
In its specific targetting of NEW products, the announcement goes on to say:
The Commission is issuing a limited exclusion order that bars the importation of Qualcomm's infringing chips and chipsets and circuit board modules or carriers containing them. In addition, the exclusion order bars the importation of certain handheld wireless communications devices, such as cellular telephone handsets and personal digital assistants ("PDAs"), that contain Qualcomm's infringing chips and chipsets. The exclusion order does not apply to handheld wireless communications devices that are of the same models as handheld wireless communications devices that were being imported for sale to the general public on or before the date of the order, June 7, 2007. However, the order does bar the importation of new models of handheld wireless communications devices that contain Qualcomm's infringing chips and chipsets. Thus, the order "grandfathers" models of handheld wireless communications devices being imported into the United States for sale to the general public on or before June 7, 2007.
As the notices cites examples such as EV-DO and WCDMA (technology reportedly prohibited by Apple's 5 year agreement with AT&T) and not HSDPA, Apple's choice of partnering with AT&T, may well have spared it any 3G pain even if it were to be supported by its first phone. If it weren't, such a ruling, would have also lent more importance to reports that AT&T has taken resources away from its HSPDA (3G) built-out, in order to enhance its EDGE (2G) service for the iPhone launch. Reports have indicated that this procedure, internally called "Fine EDGE", will be completed on June 15th, and may have lasted as long as 6 weeks.
If no stay is granted, it is not known if Qualcom would be able to come to a settlement with Broadcomm, however from its statements to the press, Broadcomm is ready and willing to ink license agreements for its intellectual property.
"We simply want to be adequately compensated for the use of our intellectual property,'' Broadcom spokesman Bill Blanning said in an e-mailed statement. ``To that end, we have made it clear to Qualcomm that we are open to discussions regarding the potential for licensing of our patent. The ball is in Qualcomm's court.''
- http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=amES_0bssrNk&refer=news
- http://db.tidbits.com/article/9031
- http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/exclusive/iphone-data-to-be-boosted-by-atts-operation-fine-edge-265867.php