Broadcom Launches New Legal Barrage

If wireless chipmaker Broadcom gets its way in court, rival Qualcomm could be forced to raise its royalty fees, perhaps leading its customers to bring more of their business to Broadcom. ) said on Wednesday that it filed a complaint in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego against Qualcomm (nasdaq: ), alleging its rival is engaging in "patent misuse" for the "double recovery" of royalties on its cellphone technology. Broadcom asserts that this has brought Qualcomm "a financial windfall and brought harm to the industry and consumers." Shares of Broadcom rose 1.2%, or 18 cents, to $14.85 at the close, while Qualcomm shares shot up 4.8%, or $1.89, to $41.07. Broadcom is attempting to challenge Qualcomm's practice of charging a royalty both from chipmakers that are using its technology to build cell... [read full story]