Qualcomm Asks Judge to Settle Patent Dispute

Qualcomm Inc. said it asked a federal judge to resolve a dispute with Philips Electronics about whether Qualcomm’s equipment for digital wireless phone networks infringes Philips’ patents. Qualcomm filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in San Diego, seeking to have the Philips patents ruled invalid. The filing comes in response to claims by Philips that Qualcomm violates its patents for code-division multiple access, or CDMA, a technology that allows more calls to be sent over a phone network. San Diego-based Qualcomm makes equipment that uses technology based on the IS-95-A standard for CDMA and said it already has all the patents needed for the equipment. Netherlands-based Philips holds three patents that it says include features used in Qualcomm’s products.