The U.S. Trade Representative upheld a ban Monday on cell phones that contain Qualcomm Inc.’s chips found to infringe on rival Broadcom Corp.’s patents.
The ban had been under review for two months by the White House, which could have vetoed it. The ban was issued in June by the International Trade Commission.
The ITC, a trade watchdog, banned San Diego-based Qualcomm and phone makers from importing the contested chips as part of a penalty against Qualcomm, which was found to have infringed on several of Broadcom’s cell phone chip patents.
The ban also prevents Qualcomm from designing the chips into phones or supporting the testing and debugging of phones that already contain them.
Existing phone models in the U.S. that contain the chips are excluded from the order.
The ban raised protests from wireless service providers and cell phone makers, which were concerned about limiting competition.
Last month, Verizon Wireless, a unit of Verizon Communications Inc., inked a deal with Broadcom that gets around the ban through a royalty agreement.
Public safety groups also lobbied the White House, raising concerns about emergency and rescue workers losing access to certain cell phone models.
In response, Broadcom offered “royalty free” licensing deals to state and local public safety agencies.
Industry watchers anticipated the President letting the ban stand, given his administration’s long-running stance on protecting intellectual property abroad.
The White House also has a strong track record of upholding ITC decisions.
The executive branch has overruled the ITC only five times, most recently in 1987.
