Supply Chain Reaction

Broadcom and Qualcomm were back in court today, each beating their same old drums when it comes to certain cell-phone power-conservation chips.

Today’s courtroom reunion sees the two competitors once again arguing over if cell phones using Qualcomm chips that include technology found to infringe Broadcom patents should be sold in the United States. Qualcomm was ordered by the US District Court for Northern California last year to stop selling phones with certain WCDMA and EV-DO chips by January 2009 because they were found to infringe three Broadcom patents. The ruling also required Qualcomm to pay royalties to Broadcom for the chips it sells during the "sunset period."

So should such phones be sold? Seems like a no-brainer to me: No. If the technology infringes, end of story. But Qualcomm today again argued that such phones must remain on the market to encourage competition and was supported in court by a number of companies that use the disputed technology including, Motorola, Blackberry maker RIM, Samsung, LG, , T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint Nextel.

It also seems like a no-brainer to the case judges, too. According to a Reuters report, one judge abruptly asked “So what is the problem here?" during Qualcomm lawyer's argument against the injunction.

Meanwhile, the court ruling is a separate matter from the related International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling, which banned the chips months before the US District Court did. 

Unless these two decisions are reversed, the cell phone supply chain is in for some big changes come January. 

Share your thoughts on the legal battle and its impact on cell phone design below.