By MATT RICHTEL The New York Times June 8, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO, June 7 - Millions of new mobile phones containing certain Qualcomm semiconductors could be barred from import into the United States under a ruling issued Thursday by a federal government agency in a patent dispute.
Qualcomm said the ruling by the United States International Trade Commission, if it withstands an appeal, could prevent the importation into the United States of tens of millions of new mobile handsets designed for the Verizon, Sprint and AT&T Wireless networks.
The agency ruled that Qualcomm, a semiconductor company based in San Diego, had infringed on a key patent belonging to Broadcom, a competing chip company based in Irvine, Calif., that is used in the design of chips made for advanced 3G, or third-generation, smart cellphones. Qualcomm said that it planned to appeal immediately to the federal court to block the ruling. The company also said that it planned to appeal to President Bush, whose trade representative, Susan C. Schwab, has 60 days within which to veto the ruling. The company said it sought "to avoid irreparable harm to U.S. consumers" and injury to the economy.