A U.S. federal court jury has found Qualcomm infringed three Broadcom patents and awarded Broadcom $19.6 million in damages.

The jury in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., found Qualcomm infringed the patents wilfully, and a judge could increase the award as much as three times for this, according to a Qualcomm statement. At a hearing on June 18, the judge in the case is scheduled to set dates for post-trial motions. Qualcomm, a cellular pioneer and a wireless intellectual-property powerhouse, said it would challenge the findings in post-trial motions and, if necessary, an appeal. Broadcom plans to ask for a permanent injunction to stop Qualcomm from using the technologies..

The case, filed in May 2005, involves five Broadcom patents. Broadcom dismissed its claims on one patent, and the court stayed the case with regard to another, according to Qualcomm. On Tuesday, the jury cleared Qualcomm on one claim regarding one of the patents.

The patent claims affect key Qualcomm products: its EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) high-speed mobile data chips, its QChat push-to-talk software and chip platforms for mobile multimedia, according to a Broadcom statement.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.