ITC upholds Broadcom patent-infringement claim against SiRF

Ruling follows June rejection of SiRF's claims against Broadcom.

By Matthew Miller, Editor in Chief, EDN.com -- Electronic News, 8/11/2008

As it did in Round One, Broadcom has prevailed in Round Two of a GPS patent dispute with SiRF Technology, as a US ITC (International Trade Commission) judge Friday ruled that SiRF products infringe six patents belonging to Global Locate, a wholly owned Broadcom subsidiary.

The judge's ruling, called an Initial Determination, officially finds the six patents, which involve improvements to GPS processing and sensitivity, to be valid, infringed, and enforceable. Products incorporating the patents include the SiRFstar III and SiRFInstant architectures, according to Broadcom. The ITC expects to issue a final determination by its full six-person commission in early December.

In addition to pressing its case in the ITC, Broadcom has sued SiRF in US District Court in Santa Ana, CA, in separate actions filed in January 2007 and May 2008. The company's vice president for IP litigation said in a statement that Broadcom "remains open to a mutually acceptable resolution of these disputes."

A SiRF representative did not respond to a request for comment.

Broadcom's stock (Nasdaq, BRCM) was up 95 cents (3.65%) as of 1:30 ET, while SiRF's (Nasdaq, SIRF) was down $0.57 (17.45%) and trading at $2.64, near its 52-week low of $2.15.