The fight between Broadcom and Qualcomm has gone on for quite some time, with Qualcomm having been on the losing end of most of it. In mid July, a stunning blow was landed to Qualcomm when Verizon was snatched out from under them by Broadcom, though you can hardly blame Verizon given the circumstances.
Qualcomm has sought shelter in many avenues, though they are finding themselves with no allies. Now, today, the Bush administration has ruled that it will not intervene on the case, nor overturn the decision made by the ITC not long ago that set all of this in motion.
Qualcomm's deadline looms, and it looks like they will be in serious trouble once the ban goes into effect. Qualcomm has not yet stated what they plan to do should this occur. This all began a little over two years ago, when Broadcom filed a claim against them for copyright infringement.