The finding was made by an International Trade Commission administrative judge and is subject to review by the full commission and then by the courts. The commission, a quasi-independent federal agency with power over imports, is not likely to make a final decision until February.
The finding is adverse to Qualcomm on some claims of one Broadcom patent for wireless chips, but not on two other patents at issue in the case.
This case again raises doubts in my mind about the patent system. The legal findings seem like hair splitting when “some claims” [but not all?] about one patent are found to infringe but not on claims arising from two other patents. Given that a final determination may be years away, any phone maker will shy away from taking a risk on these Qualcomm chips which are thus faced with being shut out of the US market. One must wonder about how technically qualified the judges are and the money spent on the litigation, as well as the loss to consumers.
