Qualcomm Ban Does Not Affect Already Shipping Smartphones

A ban on the import of high-end smartphones based on Qualcomm chips has left some potential buyers of these devices wondering if they should be scrambling to pick one up before they disappear off store shelves.

These people should be relieved to learn that the ban on importing models with Qualcomm chips only applies to new models. If a device was already shipping before the ban went into effect, it can still be brought into the U.S. under what's generally called a grandfather clause.

Problems All Around

This court-ordered ban could mean that companies will not be able to launch new 3G smartphones based on Qualcomm chips until the ban is lifted. Exactly how this is going to affect the new crop of devices expected this fall is not yet known.

Models created for Sprint and Verizon are the ones most likely to use Qualcomm chips, and these carriers are taking two different routes looking for a solution.

The ban is the result of a patent dispute between Qualcomm and Broadcom, and Verizon has agreed to pay Broadcom a fee to license the patents in question. Sprint, in the other hand, is trying to develop a software solution that will give the same functionality without infringement.

Ban? What Ban?

For many months now, courts and other government agencies have been ruling that some the chips made by Qualcomm for 3G cellular-wireless networking infringe on a patent owned by Broadcom.

In June the U.S. International Trade Commission issued a cease and desist order that blocks any phone that uses the infringing Qualcomm chips from being imported into the U.S.

The Broadcom patent at the heart of this dispute is related preserving the battery life of a 3G device when it's outside of the range of a wireless network.

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