Judge orders Qualcomm to pay Broadcom $39.3M

A U.S. District Court judge in Santa Ana, California has ordered Qualcomm Inc. to pay $39.3 million in damages and legal fees over its patent infringement case against Broadcom Corp.

An injunction hearing on the case, in which Broadcom is seeking to bar future infringement of the patents by Qualcomm, is scheduled to begin Aug. 21.

Building on the May decision of a federal jury that ordered a $19.64 million fine in damages, judge James V. Selna doubled the amount after finding that Qualcomm intentionally infringed Broadcom's patents. "There is a spectrum of improper conduct for determining the amount to award. That Qualcomm's conduct was not at the most egregious end of the spectrum does not mean that no enhanced award is due," he said.

On Aug. 7, a U.S. District Court judge in San Diego ruled against Qualcomm in an infringement case it brought involving two digital video compression patents. Qualcomm was also denied in its bid for a White House veto on the U.S. International Trade Commission order banning the importation of certain handsets containing Qualcomm chips that infringed Broadcom patents.