US semiconductor supplier Broadcom has made a patent claim for more than $1 billion against Volkswagen and is threatening to seek a judicial ban on the production of several car models, German magazine Der Spiegel said on Friday.
A Volkswagen spokesman on Friday told Reuters that a legal action had been filed by Broadcom against the German carmaker over a patent issue without confirming the size of the claim.
“Volkswagen has examined the claim and taken necessary action to protect its legal interests,” the spokesman added.
Spiegel magazine, which first reported the conflict on Friday, said it concerned the use of 18 patents on Broadcom semiconductors which Volkswagen uses for navigation and entertainment system in some of its cars.
Broadcom earlier this year began legal action in the United States against Japan’s Toyota and Panasonic, among other firms, for alleged patent infringement.
Lawsuits against Volkswagen have been brought before patent courts in the German cities of Mannheim and Muenster, Spiegel said, adding that Broadcom threatened to seek a provisional ban on the production of the relevant Volkswagen models, as well as some models of its Audi and Porsche brands.
