A San Diego court on Monday dismissed a complaint by Irvine-based Broadcom Corp. against rival Qualcomm Inc. in the two chipmakers’ ongoing battles over cell phone chip patents.
Broadcom filed a suit in October in which it alleged that San Diego-based Qualcomm’s way of doing business amounts to “patent misuse” that allowed it to collect double royalties on chips.
“Qualcomm’s use of ‘exhausted’ patents to control post-sale use of products in the wireless communications industry results in a double recovery of royalties,” Broadcom said in the original complaint. “These practices constitute patent misuse that has brought Qualcomm a financial windfall and brought harm to the industry and consumers.”
Judge William Hayes dismissed the case because Broadcom failed to identify any specific patents that could be categorized as “exhausted.”
So-called exhausted patents are generally thought to be unenforceable.
Broadcom fired back and said it intended to re-file its case.
“The court’s dismissal was without prejudice and we intend to address the court’s comments and re-file within the next two weeks,” the company said.
In 2007, the Broadcom filed a similar suit in a Santa Ana court alleging Qualcomm’s practices violate California competition laws.
The suit goes beyond prior litigation between the two, which have been largely focused on patents, by charging Qualcomm with unfair business practices, discriminatory licensing and violation of industry standards by concealing its patents.
The two chipmakers have been sparring in Santa Ana and San Diego courts for more than three years over intellectual property issues and the legal remedies for patent infringement of various technologies for cell phones.
The disputes have been won by Broadcom for the most part, which counts as victories some $20 million in damages, a licensing deal with Verizon Communications Inc. and an international ban against some of Qualcomm’s chips.
Broadcom’s shares fell 3% in mid day trading on a recent market value of $9 billion.
