Law Firm News

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Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Successfully Represents Ryanair in Competition Law Case
The Frankfurt office of the international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP successfully represented the Irish low fares airline Ryanair Ltd. in a competition law case against a major competitor. Ryanair had objected to the "betterFly" offer for destinations within Europe of this competitor airline.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges initially filed for a preliminary injunction with the Cologne Regional Court on behalf of Ryanair with the objective of prohibiting Ryanair's competitor from advertising fares in its "betterFly" offer that do not include the ticket service charge of 10 € for each ticket. The competitor had advertised fares "from 99 €" and only referred to the service charge of 10 € payable in each case in the following text, thus not indicating a final price. The Cologne Regional Court considered this to be an act of unfair competition and granted the preliminary injunction in line with the motion. The injunction was later confirmed by judgment of the Cologne Regional Court.

At the appellate level, the Cologne Higher Regional Court also considered the "betterFly" offer to be anticompetitive in nature since it arbitrarily reduced the minimum fare in the low-cost flight sector below the threshold of 100 €. The legal dispute was eventually settled on the basis of a cease and desist declaration that had been issued by the competitor in the meantime. The case made a major contribution to the improved comparability of ticket fares in the low-cost flight sector in the interest of consumers.

The Weil, Gotshal & Manges Litigation attorneys representing Ryanair in this case were Silke Baechle and Tomasz Piasecki.

05-29-2007

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Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP

Weil Gotshal Scores Appellate Victory For Reuters and British Telcom
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP obtained an important appellate win before the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on behalf our clients Reuters and British Telcom. The action stemmed from Reuters’ sale of Radianz to British Telcom. Suing on behalf of a putative class of over 1,000 current and former Radianz employees, plaintiffs alleged that the true purchase price for the stock of Radianz was manipulated by Reuters and British Telcom so as to render worthless the Radianz stock options that these employees had received as part of their compensation. The Second Circuit affirmed the lower court’s decision dismissing the class action suit on forum non conveniens grounds.

The Weil Gotshal team working on this matter consisted of partners Richard Rothman, Jonathan Polkes and associates Josh Amsel and Jessie Mishkin.

05-29-2007

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O'Melveny & Myers, LLP

FIFTH PARTNER JOINS O’MELVENY’S BANKRUPTCY PRACTICE
O'Melveny & Myers LLP announced today that Shannon Lowry Nagle has joined the firm's New York office as a partner in the Business Restructuring and Reorganization Group. Shannon joins Michael Sage, Gerald Bender, Doron Lipshitz and Patricia Perez, all of whom recently joined O'Melveny from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP.

Brad Okun, head of O'Melveny's New York office said, "We are delighted that Shannon has joined our rapidly growing restructuring practice in New York. The breadth and depth of experience among our New York-based team builds on the strengths of our M&A and private equity practice in New York and meshes seamlessly with our established and well-regarded West Coast restructuring practice."

Michael Sage added, "Shannon's extensive experience in all facets of bankruptcy is uniquely complementary to the focus of O'Melveny's restructuring practice in New York and the Firm's commitment to the growth of the restructuring practice is a tremendous asset for our East Coast clients.

05-29-2007

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Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

Fulbright Partner Elected President of Texas Exes
Fulbright partner Darrell Windham soon will lead one of the largest alumni associations in the nation – the Texas Exes of the University of Texas at Austin.

Like many Longhorn alumni, Windham holds his alma mater dear to his heart. He will take over as president of the organization on July 1. Windham replaces Sonia Perez, the Senior Vice President of External Affairs for AT&T in the Houston and Southeast Texas region.

“We have a very proud and loyal group of alumni and supporters who want to continue to improve the university. The Texas Exes is a way for us to connect the university with fellow alumni across the globe. Whenever we gather to sing 'The Eyes of Texas,' you can feel and see the undying loyalty to this special place. I am very excited about working with my fellow Texas Exes and our terrific staff to enhance the Longhorn experience.”

Windham, who heads Fulbright’s corporate practice in Austin, received his J.D. with honors in 1978 and his B.B.A. in accounting with highest honors in 1975, both from the University of Texas at Austin.

Windham has more than twenty-eight years of experience in all types of business and securities matters, including public and private securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions and financing transactions. Windham advises Fulbright’s clients on securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, business start-ups and organizations, strategic alliances, joint ventures and other domestic and international business transactions and securities law compliance.

The University of Texas was a transformative force in his life, he said.

“For me, UT was a place that opened up the world encouraging the exploration of a wide range of subjects, philosophies, viewpoints and disciplines,” he said. “The university celebrated people’s differences and promoted a culture of respecting and celebrating diverse cultures and perspectives. UT revealed to so many of us an infinite array of new possibilities in an energized and creative atmosphere.”

There are approximately 74,000 dues paying Texas Exes. The organization’s scholarship program annually awards approximately $1.5 million to more than 600 recipients. During his tenure as president, Windham plans to enhance the scholarship program by increasing the amount of scholarship money the association offers to the best and brightest students.

“I am very proud that the Texas Exes has the largest scholarship endowment of any university alumni association because I would never have been able to attend the University of Texas if I had not received substantial scholarship assistance. We will work hard to continue to expand the quantity and quality of our scholarships.”

Windham also wants the Texas Exes inform the public on the importance of higher education to the future of Texas and to continue to strengthen the traditional values of sportsmanship and civility among fans.

A former member of the University’s Commission of 125, Windham currently serves as a director of the Longhorn Foundation and the Austin Longhorn Club and as a member of the McDonald Observatory and Astronomy Board of Visitors.

For the University of Texas System, Windham serves on the executive committee of the Chancellor’s Council and is a director of Friends of the University. Windham has also been recognized as a member of the Littlefield Society, which is the University of Texas’ premier campus-wide donor society.

Windham continues to be selected by his peers as one of the Best Lawyers in America and as a Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly magazine.

05-29-2007

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Carlton Fields

Carlton Fields Attorney Appointed Co-Chair of ABA’S International Tax Committee
The law firm of Carlton Fields is pleased to announce that Shareholder William D. Rohrer has been appointed Co-Chair of the International Tax Committee for the International Section of the American Bar Association (ABA). Rohrer previously served as Vice Chair.

The International Tax Law Committee aims to create a platform for both specialist and non-specialist tax lawyers in which they are able to deepen their knowledge of international taxation, to inspire an international attitude and to network amongst like-minded internationally oriented tax lawyers.

“As more and more foreign businesses seek attractive locations for regional offices in the U.S. -- and vice versa -- taxation inevitably plays a large role in these complex decisions,” said Rohrer, who works in Carlton Fields’ Miami office. “Furthermore, as immigration into the U.S. increases exponentially, there are complex tax rules that are not understood very well and full of pitfalls for the uninitiated.”

Rohrer is also a certified public accountant and the Practice Group Leader of the firm’s Corporate, Securities & Tax Practice Group. His legal practice focuses on international and domestic tax planning; estate, gift and transactional tax planning; federal and state tax audits and tax litigation; and international and domestic corporate matters. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Ohio State University in 1978, his J.D. in 1981 from Ohio State University College of Law and his Master’s in Taxation in 1987 from New York University School of Law.

05-29-2007

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Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr, L.L.P.

Federal Jury Finds That Qualcomm Infringes Three Broadcom Patents
Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, announced that a unanimous federal jury today found that certain Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM) cellular baseband chips and software infringe claims of three Broadcom patents, and awarded Broadcom $19.64 million in damages for Qualcomm's past infringement.

The jury of six women and three men, sitting in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., also found that the three patents are valid and that Qualcomm's infringement was willful, allowing the court to increase the damages up to three times the amount awarded by the jury.

Broadcom plans to ask the court to issue a permanent injunction barring Qualcomm from further infringement of the three patents.

"We are very pleased with the jury's verdict, and gratified that the jurors were able to absorb and evaluate very technical material and arrive at the conclusion that Qualcomm once again is improperly utilizing our patented technology covering cellular baseband solutions," said David A. Dull, Broadcom's Senior Vice President and General Counsel. "Broadcom was an early pioneer in a broad range of wired and wireless communications and multimedia technologies, which are at the heart of the convergence and communications trends that are touching consumers in their daily lives. Broadcom's patents are our company's lifeblood, representing substantial financial investment and the hard work and innovations of our engineers around the world. We are heartened that the legal system has provided redress for Qualcomm's infringing behavior."

The three patents include:

* U.S. Patent No. 5,657,317, which relates generally to simultaneous participation on two networks using a single transceiver. As cellular standards continue to proliferate and evolve, cellular phones have become multimodal, allowing access to the newest standards while maintaining backward compatibility. The jury found that Qualcomm has used the multimode inventions of the '317 patent in its EV-DO baseband chips.
* U.S. Patent No. 6,847,686, which relates generally to a chip architecture for performing video processing. As technology continues to converge into cellular phones and other mobile devices, consumers expect higher levels of video performance. The jury found that Qualcomm has used Broadcom's patented architecture for providing this increased video performance in its "Enhanced Multimedia" and "Convergence" chip platforms.
U.S. Patent No. 6,389,010, which relates generally to a phone that may be used to place calls over fixed or variable bandwidth networks. A 'push-to-talk' feature on a cell phone gives the user the choice of making a 'walkie-talkie' type connection instead of a traditional cell phone call. The jury found that Qualcomm uses the invention of the '010 patent in its QChat® software.

Tuesday's verdict, following a 13-day trial and two and a half days of deliberations, is the latest in a series of favorable court and governmental decisions for Broadcom in its ongoing legal battles with Qualcomm over patent infringement issues. In December 2006, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) found that Qualcomm's third generation, or 3G, cellular baseband chips infringe a Broadcom patent related to power-saving technology. A decision on the appropriate remedy for that infringement is expected by June 7. Today's jury findings confirm that Qualcomm's infringement of Broadcom's large and growing patent portfolio is widespread and pervasive.

In January 2007, a unanimous jury in San Diego federal court determined that Broadcom does not infringe two Qualcomm patents related to video compression. The judge in that case then decided that Qualcomm had waived its right to enforce the patents by failing to comply with its obligations to the applicable industry standards body. A hearing on the appropriate remedy for Qualcomm's conduct in the video compression case is set for June 25.

Separately, Broadcom recently filed a complaint against Qualcomm asserting unfair competition, fraud and breach of contract claims related to Qualcomm's abuse of the intellectual property rules of various industry standards setting bodies. The complaint alleges that Qualcomm has engaged in a pattern of misconduct across multiple technologies and multiple standards bodies, including those responsible for setting cellular, video, and mobile broadband standards, and that Qualcomm's misconduct includes improperly concealing its patents, reneging on licensing obligations, and exerting dominance through hidden affiliations.

Broadcom has joined five other leading mobile wireless technology companies in filing complaints with the European Commission alleging that Qualcomm has engaged in anticompetitive conduct in the licensing of its patents and the sale of its chipsets for mobile wireless devices and systems. The six companies assert that Qualcomm is violating EU competition law and failing to meet the commitments it made to international standards bodies to license its technology on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. Broadcom and other wireless technology companies have filed similar complaints before the Korean Fair Trade Commission. Broadcom is also appealing last year's dismissal of its federal antitrust lawsuit against Qualcomm. The dismissal, by a U.S. District Judge in New Jersey, was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The appeal is scheduled to be heard June 28.

Following the filing of Broadcom's patent infringement and antitrust actions, Qualcomm responded by filing a number of complaints against Broadcom. However, Qualcomm either lost or settled all of those claims, so Broadcom currently faces no actions against it by Qualcomm.

The proceedings instituted by Broadcom against Qualcomm come at a time when the cellular phone industry is transitioning from providing voice-only services to offering customers an array of multimedia services, including a wide variety of audio, video, data and communications capabilities. Among the multimedia features now offered to consumers are TV, MP3 capabilities, personal video recording (PVR), VoIP, and the 'push-to-talk' feature, which enables users to use their cellular phones like walkie-talkies. Consumer demand for these features is driving the next upgrade cycle in networks and cellular phones.

Broadcom is in the vanguard of the transition to feature-rich cellular phones. Its products incorporate many innovative technologies such as Bluetooth®, Wi-Fi®, third generation (3G) cellular baseband, multimedia processing, VoIP and security, all protected by an extensive intellectual property portfolio.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art, system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything®.

Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2006 revenue of $3.67 billion, and holds over 2,000 U.S. and 800 foreign patents, more than 6,000 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video and data.

Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at www.broadcom.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

All statements included or incorporated by reference in this release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry and business, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us, all of which are subject to change. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.

Important factors that may cause such a difference for Broadcom in connection with our litigation with Qualcomm include, but are not limited to, our ability to prevail in the various federal and state lawsuits, the ITC proceeding and other proceedings against Qualcomm; the ability of our patents to protect our intellectual property and products; our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights; and the risks associated with litigation in general, including the costs and time that must be devoted to litigation, the potential diversion of attention of management and key employees that may result from being engaged in litigation, and the possibility of adverse results.

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors that could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of this date. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason.

Broadcom®, the pulse logo, Connecting everything®, and the Connecting everything logo are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. Qualcomm® and QChat® are trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated. Bluetooth® is a trademark of the Bluetooth SIG. Wi-Fi® is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

05-29-2007

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Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP

Leto Appointed to BoardIQ Advisory Board
Stradley Ronon partner and investment management/mutual funds practice group chair Bruce G. Leto was recently appointed to the advisory board of BoardIQ – a twice-a-month online publication providing news about mutual fund governance and perspective and industry analysis for mutual fund trustees. As a member of the advisory board, Leto, along with other industry leaders, will participate in discussions with BoardIQ’s editorial staff concerning current issues facing mutual fund boards, help to determine topics of interest for publications as well as for roundtable discussions and provide an outside lawyer’s perspective on such issues in BoardIQ publications.

As chair of Stradley Ronon’s nationally ranked investment management/mutual funds practice group, Leto counsels investment companies, investment advisers, independent trustees and broker-dealers on securities and corporate matters relating to pooled investment products, including registered and unregistered, open- and closed-end investment companies. He also serves on the advisory board of the Mutual Fund Directors Forum.

05-29-2007

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