The International Trade Commission delayed issuing penalties late Friday to San Diego’s Qualcomm Inc., which was found to have infringed on patented cell phone chips made by rival Broadcom Corp. of Irvine.
The ITC put off a ruling until June 7.
Back in October an ITC judge found that 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 penalties could be harsh: On deck is the possibility of an import ban of Qualcomm chips to the U.S. and an order barring sales of phones containing the contested chips that have already entered the country.
Some suggested the delay could mean a softer penalty for Qualcomm.
For more than two years, the two have accused each other of violating patents and stealing trade secrets.
To date, Broadcom has alleged that Qualcomm’s cell phone products infringe on about 20 different Broadcom patents.
