Qualcomm rejects Broadcom’s $6 per phone offer
Qualcomm rejects Broadcom’s $6 per phone offer
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Chip designer Broadcom said on Friday that rival Qualcomm Inc. rejected its offer to settle a patent dispute over wireless chip technology with a $6 royalty fee for each mobile phone affected.
The two companies have been locked in lawsuits over wireless chip technology. Qualcomm is seeking a presidential veto on a U.S. government agency’s ban on imports of high-speed wireless phones that use Qualcomm chips due to their infringement of Broadcom patents.
David Rosmann, Broadcom’s vice president of intellectual property litigation, said the company’s offer translated to around 2 percent to 2.5 percent of the price of each handset.
The patent in question involves technology that extends the battery life of mobile phones, according to Broadcom.
Although Qualcomm snubbed its offer to settle on that patent, Rosmann said negotiations were likely to continue with Qualcomm over a wider range of disputed patents.
“We’ve had meetings with them, and we anticipate that we’ll have future meetings,” he said.
Qualcomm chips are used in Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless phones. Verizon Wireless is a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc.
Sprint Nextel told Reuters on Monday that it was using a software patch that helped it avoid the patented technology, allowing it to bring out as many devices as it wants.
Rosmann said Sprint had not contacted Broadcom about the work-around. Qualcomm officials were not immediately available.
Qualcomm shares fell 7 cents to close at $43.39 on the Nasdaq on Friday. Broadcom fell 35 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $29.25.