Qualcomm shares up on stay of ITC ban for phones

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) shares rose more than 3 percent on Thursday after a court said it would stay a government ban on the U.S. import of phones using Qualcomm chips that were found to infringe a Broadcom Corp BRCM.O> patent.

The stay from the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, announced Wednesday, allows phone makers to import devices with the infringing chips pending Qualcomm's appeal of the U.S. International Trade Commission's June 7 ban on U.S. sale of new high-speed wireless phones including the infringing chips.

Qualcomm shares were up $1.33 at $39.20 on Nasdaq where Broadcom shares were up 8 cents at $35.45.

While Qualcomm is still banned from importing the infringing chips itself, analysts said this does not hurt the company because its chips are made overseas and then shipped to handset makers who import them to the United States.

"We do not view this as significant because Qualcomm does not import chipsets directly into the U.S.," UBS analyst Maynard Um said in a note to clients.

Investors see the multiple legal battles between Qualcomm and Broadcom eventually leading to technology licensing agreements between the companies, with the legal winner having the upper hand in setting license terms.

Um said the stay could reduce Broadcom's leverage in its battles with Qualcomm.

The stay, announced on Wednesday allows phone makers such as Motorola Inc (MOT.N), Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and LG Electronics (066570.KS) to keep importing handsets that would otherwise have been affected by the ban.