CTIA – The Wireless Association® Files Amicus Curiae Brief in ITC Chip Ban Proceeding

July 2, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC – On Friday afternoon, CTIA-The Wireless Association® filed an amicus curiae brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit supporting a stay of the International Trade Commission’s (ITC) sweeping order that prevents new and upgraded wireless products that incorporate certain Qualcomm chips from being imported into the United States. The Qualcomm chips in question have been found to infringe upon a Broadcom patent. 

CTIA-The Wireless Association®’s brief was offered in support of an Emergency Motion filed by Qualcomm Incorporated, Verizon Wireless and other petitioners.     

In the friend of the court brief, CTIA–The Wireless Association® argues that the ITC has not only exceeded its statutory authority by barring non-liable parties from importing certain products, but in doing so will inflict significant harm upon American public safety, innovation and economic productivity.  

A section of the brief reads; “The downstream exclusion order will deny American consumers a wide array of new and upgraded third-generation (“3G”) wireless broadband devices (in which Broadcom’s chips cannot, for the foreseeable future, be substituted); will devalue expensive 3G wireless networks put in place in anticipation of the excluded devices; will wipe out the investments of enterprises that supply infrastructure, components, new services and devices predicated on wide consumer adoption of 3G; and will threaten public safety by denying citizens and first responders the 3G devices they need to report and respond to imminent threats.”

The full amicus brief can be accessed on CTIA’s website at the following link…
http://files.ctia.org/pdf/filings/070628_LG_v_USITC_Amicus_Brief.pdf

###

CTIA is the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry,
representing carriers, manufacturers and wireless Internet providers.
www.ctia.org