Qualcomm Wins Judgment in Motorola Design Patent Case And Files New Claims for Infringement Against Motorola
SAN DIEGO -- Aug. 30, 1999 -- Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM) today announced a significant victory in its ongoing litigation against Motorola. The United States District Court in San Diego granted Qualcomm's motions for summary judgment that Qualcomm's Q™ phone does not infringe two Motorola patents on the appearance of Motorola's StarTAC® phone. Judge Napoleon Jones ruled that the Q phone does not infringe because it does not have the appearance features that differentiate the Motorola patents, numbers D359,734 and D369,598, from designs that predate the patents. The rulings, entered under seal on August 6, 1999 became public on August 25, 1999.
"The Court's decision confirms that the Q phone is an original design and, as we have contended since the outset of this litigation, establishes that Motorola does not own the exclusive rights to the clamshell form for wireless phones," said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, president of Qualcomm' Consumer Products. "We are gratified by this latest vindication of Qualcomm's right to compete in the CDMA marketplace with an innovative clamshell phone such as the Q phone."
On July 20, 1999, Qualcomm filed a new lawsuit in San Diego against Motorola seeking a judicial determination that Qualcomm has the right to terminate all licenses granted to Motorola under the 1990 agreement, while retaining all licenses granted by Motorola. The complaint explains that Motorola breached the 1990 agreement by pursuing a lawsuit against Qualcomm for infringement of patents that are in fact licensed to Qualcomm and additionally by failing to grant certain sublicenses to Qualcomm in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
Qualcomm also announced today that it expanded the new case to include claims for patent infringement by Motorola's Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) phones, including the StarTAC and other models. Qualcomm's amended complaint, filed on August 5, 1999, states that Motorola's phones infringe three Qualcomm patents not licensed under the 1990 agreement because they were applied for after the invention period covered by the agreement. Qualcomm seeks damages and an injunction against Motorola's continued infringement.
Qualcomm Incorporated (www.qualcomm.com) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on the Company's CDMA digital technology. The Company's major business areas include CDMA phones; integrated CDMA chipsets and system software; technology licensing; and satellite-based systems including OmniTRACS® and portions of the Globalstar™ system. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Qualcomm is included in theS&PIndex and is a FORTUNE 500® company traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol QCOM.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including timely product development, the Company's ability to successfully manufacture significant quantities of CDMA or other equipment on a timely and profitable basis, and those related to performance guarantees, change in economic conditions of the various markets the Company serves, as well as the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 27, 1998, and most recent Form 10-Q.
Qualcomm and OmniTRACS are registered trademarks and the Q phone is a trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated. Globalstar is a trademark of Loral Qualcomm Satellite Services, Incorporated. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE Qualcomm Incorporated
