The district court's ruling resulted from a suit Qualcomm filed against rival chip maker Broadcom Corp. in 2005, saying it infringed the two patents. David Rosmann, Broadcom's vice president for intellectual property litigation, said it was "highly significant" that the appeals court had sided with the district court in finding that Qualcomm's participation in the standards group made its patents unenforceable. The ruling will have ramifications for Qualcomm's participation in other standard-setting bodies as well, particularly when it comes to cellular technologies, Rosmann said. Broadcom of Irvine, Calif., and San Diego-based Qualcomm frequently battle each other in court over patent rights. A Qualcomm representative did not immediately return a call for comment.