Qualcomm sues TI over patents

Qualcomm said Friday it has sued Texas Instruments, a rival in cell phone technology, claiming it breached a December 2000 patent-licensing agreement.

That agreement let both companies use many of each other's cell phone patents in their products, Qualcomm General Counsel Lou Lupin said. In essence, the pact let each company "develop a semiconductor that infringed" patents and sell it without being sued, he said.

The December 2000 agreement involved TI's cell phone processors and Qualcomm's Code Division Multiple Access cell phone technology.

Sometime in May, TI disclosed information publicly that was "supposed to be confidential" under terms of the agreement, Lupin said. Neither Lupin nor the Newcastle County, Del., Superior Court lawsuit provided additional details about what TI allegedly disclosed.

Qualcomm is asking for "substantial" but unspecified damages, Lupin said. Qualcomm also wants a judge to terminate its agreement with TI, he added.

"We are certainly aware of the filing," a TI spokeswoman said. She had no additional comment.

Qualcomm also filed a patent lawsuit in December claiming that Maxim Integrated Products sells a product that violates two Qualcomm patents. Maxim denied the allegations. Although it licenses its technology to hundreds of companies, Qualcomm rarely protects its intellectual property in courts, Lupin said.