The U.S. International Trade Commission today starts considering penalties against San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc. in a patent infringement case against Broadcom Corp. of Irvine.
Broadcom is pushing for a ban on imports of wireless phones with Qualcomm chips that infringe on its patent.
Qualcomm is expected to argue against an import ban using its chips. The company could find allies in phone makers that could be impacted by a ban.
The hearing is set for today and Thursday in Washington, D.C.
An administrative law judge ruled Oct. 10 that Qualcomm infringed portions of one Broadcom patent for chips that control power usage in phones.
The hearing comes one week after Qualcomm and Broadcom settled two lawsuits that would have resulted in five jury trials. The first of the trials was to have begun this week.
