It was the latest twist in the ongoing legal battle between the rival chip makers which have swapped several patent suits, unable to reach agreement about using each other's technology.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge affirmed a jury verdict that wireless chip developer Qualcomm Inc <QCOM.O> infringed Broadcom Corp <BRCM.O> patents but removed an award of double damages for Broadcom, the companies said on Friday.
It was the latest twist in the ongoing legal battle between the rival chip makers which have swapped several patent suits, unable to reach agreement about using each other's technology.
Broadcom stock closed up 69 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $27.83 in Friday's shortened trading session on Nasdaq, where Qualcomm stock rose 7 cents to $40.53.
Irvine, California-based Broadcom said it will not seek a new trial and will accept the $19.6 million in damages originally awarded by the jury. The company said it will pursue an injunction against Qualcomm's infringing products.
!ADVERTISEMENT!In August U.S. District Judge James Selna had boosted the award to over $39 million by awarding Broadcom double damages and attorney's fees, due to the jury's finding of "willful" infringement on Qualcomm's part.
But changes in U.S. law arising from an unrelated case raised the bar on proving "willful" infringement, leading Selna to reconsider his decision.
On November 21, the judge gave Broadcom the option to let his final decision on damages stand or agree to a new trial.
Broadcom said it plans to tell the judge it will not seek a new trial, but will seek an injunction to prevent Qualcomm from making, using, selling and developing chips based on high-speed wireless technologies WCDMA and EV-DO cellular chips that infringe any of the patents.
Qualcomm, which sells chips and technology licenses based on both technologies, is also appealing a U.S. government decision to ban the sale of some phones that include Qualcomm chips found to infringe on Broadcom patents.
The San Diego-based company is also embroiled in several legal battles with leading mobile phone maker Nokia <NOK1V.HE>. They are currently in arbitration proceedings after failing to renew a technology license agreement that expired in April.
(Reporting by John Tilak in Bangalore, and Kenneth Li and Sinead Carew in New York; editing by Steve Orlofsky, Tim Dobbyn)
