Lead counsel for Qualcomm resigns

Qualcomm Inc. is keeping the reasons for the resignation of its general counsel, announced today, close to its vest.
No reasons were given for General Counsel Lou Lupin’s resignation in the terse announcement. In a press release, the San Diego-based chip vendor and IP licenser extolled Lupin’s “many valuable contributions to the company,” particulary in its IP licensing program.
The only additional details in the announcement focused on Lupin’s replacement. Carol Lam, who joined Qualcomm in February, will fill the role as acting general counsel at the company while it conducts a national search for Lupin’s replacement. Lam was U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California from 2002-2006, when she and six other U.S. attorneys were fired by the Bush administration’s Department of Justice in a case that is currently under investigation by Congress.
Lupin’s departure came after a series of legal setbacks for Qualcomm. That includes one in which the presiding judge in a patent-infringement case brought by Qualcomm against rival Broadcom Corp. in San Diego last week lambasted Qualcomm for unethical dealings with the court by its original lead counsel in a video-compression case. The outside lead counsel for Qualcomm until April, James Batchelder, drew the judge’s ire for what the latter called “gross litigation misconduct,” which included withholding evidence and false testimony by witnesses. Qualcomm replaced Batchelder in April.
Judge Rudi Brewster on Friday doubled the award that Qualcomm must pay Broadcom to nearly $20 million in the case.
Qualcomm also recently lost a patent infringement case in Santa Ana, Calif., against Broadcom on three mobile phone-related patents. In addition Qualcomm lost a patent infringement case in May over a power management patent before the U.S. International Trade Commission and, last week, the Bush administration declined to veto the ITC decision.