Broadcom Licenses Cirrus Logics Storage Patents

Broadcom Corp. tipped a potential move into the storage IC market Wednesday, adding a portfolio of storage patents from Cirrus Logic Inc.

Broadcom said it licensed an undisclosed number of patents dealing with “fundamental innovations in the magnetic and optical storage areas, including read channel and hard disk controller technologies,” from Cirrus in return for $18 million in cash.

The Irvine, Calif., company did not commit to developing products for either the disk drive or optical storage market, however.

Broadcom is one of Intel Corp.s chief rivals in communications, and the company is a leading manufacturer of Ethernet silicon, chips for set-top boxes, WiFi components and Bluetooth. Broadcom also designs chip sets for servers through its ServerWorks division.

“As a worldwide leader in broadband communications ICs, Broadcom has invested heavily in developing an extensive intellectual property portfolio to protect our state-of-the-art, industry-leading products,” Alan Ross, president and CEO of Broadcom, said in a statement. “We remain focused on continuing to expand the size and breadth of our patent portfolio, both organically and through acquisition, and are always interested in opportunities of this kind.”

Broadcoms patent portfolio currently consists of nearly 500 issued U.S. patents, the company said, as well as more than 2,200 pending U.S. patent applications, plus foreign patents and applications.