News.Com and Reuters are reporting that the Delaware Supreme Court has finally ruled in the Qualcomm v. TI suit. Here is the backstory…
In early 2000, TI and Qualcomm entered an agreeement whereby TI could license the Qualcomm CDMA patents. As a result, TI became one of the largest manufacturers of CDMA chipsets. In July 2003, Qualcomm sued TI for breech of contract. Many people (including some analysts at Deutsche Bank) felt that this suit was an effort to freeze TI out of the chipset market. In response to the lawsuit, TI senior vice president Joseph Hubach noted the intention of TI to “level the playing field” for CDMA technology.
Well, after nearly two years, the suit has finally been resolved. Today, the Delaware Supreme Court handed Qualcomm the bitter news that TI had not violated its agreement. Does this mean that the CDMA marketplace is open? Hardly. But it does mean that TI executives and shareholders have been vindicated. With this victory, TI will have the latitude to agressively market its competitive CDMA chipsets. Who knows. Maybe CDMA technology will become more cost effective. Then again, maybe not. Right now, I’m cautiously optimistic. And I’m also waiting to hear the response from Qualcomm.
-CyclingRoo-
Note: I am employed by one of the largest CDMA carriers in North America. Nevertheless, these comments represent the opinion of Lorin Olsen and in no way represent the views of my employer.