U.S. court rules Qualcomm must license patents to rivals

Foreign media reported that a U.S. federal judge ruled on November 16 local time that chip supplier Qualcomm must license part of its technology to competitors such as Intel.

The preliminary ruling came in an antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Qualcomm in early 2017 and scheduled for trial next year.

A preliminary ruling by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh of the Northern District of California said Qualcomm must license some of its patented technology to its competitors. The patents are related to making modem chips, a key component that smartphones use to connect to wireless data networks.

The ruling is a setback for Qualcomm. Qualcomm and the FTC jointly asked the judge last month to delay the ruling for up to 30 days so they could seek a settlement. Lucy Koh denied the proposal on Tuesday. Qualcomm shares fell about 0.3% to $63.26 per share after the ruling was announced.

Qualcomm has been defending its business model amid lawsuits from big customers such as Apple and Huawei, and has been grappling with regulatory challenges around the world.

The focus of the civil lawsuits and regulatory disputes is whether Qualcomm's patent licensing practices combined with its chip business constitute anti-competitive behavior. Regulators in South Korea and other countries initially ruled against Qualcomm.

In August, Qualcomm reached a $93 million settlement with local regulators in Taiwan that also includes investing $700 million in the region over the next five years.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.