Qualcomm was found liable for infringing Broadcom’s US Patent No. 6,847,686. The district court entered a permanent injunction and ordered Qualcomm to pay a royalty for sales of infringing products.
On appeal, the Federal Circuit held that the ‘686 patent was invalid as anticipated. Qualcomm filed a motion asking the district court to return the approximately $11 million it had paid in royalties as a result of the injunction. In granting Qualcomm’s motion, the district court reasoned that Qualcomm was entitled to restitution under theories of civil contempt and implied license grounds.
