Qualcomm Slaps Broadcom with Third Lawsuit

SAN DIEGO, March 30, 2006 -- Qualcomm Inc., a developer of digital wireless communications products, has filed a new complaint against Broadcom Corp., alleging trade secret misappropriation and patent infringement. It is the third time Qualcomm has brought an intellectual property infringement case against Broadcom.

The complaint, filed in federal court in San Diego, charges the Irvine, Calif.-based Broadcom, a maker of semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, with misappropriating trade secrets relating to Qualcomm's WCDMA (wideband code-division multiple access) baseband integrated circuit products and their multimedia capabilities. It alleges that Broadcom has used the trade secrets to compete unfairly with Qualcomm in selling WCDMA chipsets and accuses Broadcom of infringing on Qualcomm's US Patent through its manufacture and sale of the chipsets.

The complaint seeks an injunction prohibiting Broadcom's continued use of Qualcomm's intellectual property and monetary damages. To date, Qualcomm has asserted infringement by Broadcom's GSM (global system for mobile communications), Wi-Fi and video encoder chips of 10 Qualcomm patents. The first trial related to these lawsuits is scheduled to occur in January 2007, Qualcomm said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Broadcom has filed suits accusing Qualcomm of patent infringement and violating antitrust laws with its cell phone technology and chipsets.

For more information, visit: www.qualcomm.com