Qualcomm, Broadcom end patent spat

Wireless chip supplier Qualcomm Inc agreed to pay smaller rival Broadcom Corp $891 million over four years to settle long-standing and increasingly bitter legal battles over technology patents.

Qualcomm, which has lost several key battles in patent infringement cases with Irvine, California based Broadcom in the last few years, said on Sunday it would make its first payment of $200 million to Broadcom in the current quarter.

On Thursday, Qualcomm had rescheduled its quarterly earnings call at the last minute saying it was in advanced settlement talks with Broadcom, with which it had been fighting since 2005 in a battle spanning three continents.