FTC sues Qualcomm in US for anti-competitive practices

Qualcomm is one of the leading companies when it comes to supplying SoCs for mobile devices but that leadership may have come by way of some underhanded tactics, alleges US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). FTC has filed a complaint with the district court claiming Qualcomm used anti-competitive tactics to keep its competitors at bay and maintain its leadership.

According to the complaint, Qualcomm violates the FTC Act by forcing phone manufacturers to pay higher royalties on products that use a competitor’s baseband processors. Moreover, refusing to license the standard-essential patents on FRAND terms and preventing Apple from sourcing baseband processors from Qualcomm’s competitors from 2011 to 2016.

Last month, even South Korea FTC fined Qualcomm to the tune of $850 million for unfair trade practices.

[Via FTC]

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