Motion Claims 35,000 Documents Withheld

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Posted Jun 7, 2007, 06:35 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

A pending motion for sanctions claims chip maker Qualcomm failed to turn over more than 35,000 discovery documents in a patent infringement case.

Qualcomm had sued rival semiconductor maker Broadcom for infringing two Qualcomm patents for video compression, but lost at trial four months ago. In court papers filed late last month, Broadcom said the trial may not have been needed if Qualcomm had turned over the documents, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.

“These documents show that witnesses were not telling the truth on the stand and that Qualcomm's attorneys were making arguments that these documents can prove were false,” David Rosmann, Broadcom's vice president of intellectual property litigation, told the newspaper.

Broadcom is seeking legal fees, a fine and an investigation into the matter.

Qualcomm’s lead attorney, James Batchelder, admitted in a letter to the judge that some documents “appear to be inconsistent with arguments that we made at trial.”

“Professionally and personally, I apologize to the court and Broadcom for not having discovered these documents sooner and for asserting positions that we would not have taken had we known of the existence of these documents,” the letter read.

The Recorder reports that Batchelder has a strong reputation, as does his law firm, Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder of Cupertino, Calif.

A firm biography says Batchelder helped found the firm and lectures regularly on intellectual property strategy at Boalt Hall School of Law.

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