The International Trade Commission moved Thursday to ban imports of cell phones with Qualcomm Inc.’s chips that were found to infringe a patent held by Irvine-based rival Broadcom Corp.
The penalty was softer than the one Broadcom was after.
Broadcom wanted a broader order barring sales of phones containing the contested chips that have already entered the country.
Wireless companies are likely to be pleased with the ruling. They protested the broader ban proposed by Broadcom, saying it would hurt business.
Back in October an ITC judge found that San Diego-based Qualcomm violated U.S. trade laws by importing chips that infringe Broadcom’s patent.
In December, the ITC committee upheld the judge’s decision and said that Qualcomm infringed five claims of a Broadcom patent.
The ITC put off the ruling twice on a penalty in the past month, leading some to believe that penalties wouldn’t be as tough.
Qualcomm could settle the patent dispute with Broadcom or appeal to a federal court, according to an Associated Press report.
