ParkerVision Soaring on Favorable Patent Ruling

Shares of radio frequency (RF) technology company ParkerVision Inc. (NASDAQ: PRKR) are soaring today following the company's announcement of a favorable "Markman Order" in a patent infringement suit that ParkerVision filed in 2011 against Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM). A Markman Order clarifies the meaning of certain patent claims language, and a favorable ruling typically means that the interpretations of one side will be used in hearing and deciding the case.

According to its press release, the federal court in Florida "adopted ParkerVision's position as to the proper interpretation of most of the key terms in dispute in the litigation." At issue in this lawsuit is ParkerVision's claim that Qualcomm infringed on its "RF energy sampling technology" and has been doing so since 2006. The technology is used to capture a data in from cell phone carriers at a standard handset. Pretty basic stuff.

Because ParkerVision discussed a technology-sharing deal with Qualcomm in 1999, it's not clear whether the court's ruling would have an impact on other baseband-chipset makers like Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) and Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA).

Shares of ParkerVision are spiking to around $3.70, up more than 52% after posting a new 52-week high of $3.75 earlier. The prior 52-week range was $0.79 to $3.25.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Law, Technology Companies, Telecom Tagged: BRCM, NVDA, PRKR, QCOM