Qualcomm attorneys sanctioned

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Six Qualcomm Inc. attorneys were sanctioned by a U.S. judge in California for mishandling evidence in a patent case against Broadcom Corp.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Major referred the conduct of the lawyers to the California State Bar Association for an investigation into possible ethics violations. She didn't sanction 13 other Qualcomm attorneys on the case, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Qualcomm sued Broadcom in 2005, alleging Broadcom infringed two patents on video-compression technology. As a defense, Broadcom argued that Qualcomm violated an obligation to disclose its patents to an industry committee setting standards on the technology. Qualcomm said it wasn't part of the group.

As the trial was winding down, a Qualcomm engineer said she had e-mail messages related to the group that weren't turned over to Broadcom. Following the trial, which Broadcom won, more documents were discovered.

Qualcomm lawyers said in declarations they had no intention of deliberately withholding evidence.

Major said the declarations and other evidence lead to "the inevitable conclusion that Qualcomm intentionally withheld tens of thousands of decisive documents" to win the case and gain an advantage over Broadcom.

Qualcomm previously was ordered to pay $8.5 million to Broadcom.