Qualcomm-Chip Cell Phones Banned

A federal agency on Thursday barred the import of new models of cell phones that contain semiconductors made by Qualcomm Inc. because the chips violate a patent held by a rival, Broadcom Corp.

The U.S. International Trade Commission’s decision represents a compromise between a ban on all phones with Qualcomm chips, as Broadcom requested, and a ban only on the chips themselves, as recommended by an ITC administrative law judge late last year.

The White House has 60 days to approve or overturn the ruling.

San Diego-based Qualcomm also could settle the patent dispute with Broadcom, of Irvine, Calif., or appeal the decision to a federal court.

The four biggest phone-service providers — AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp. and Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile — and handset manufacturers told the ITC that a ban would hurt billions of dollars of investments.

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