Federal Judge Rules FTC Antitrust Lawsuit Against Qualcomm Can Proceed

A federal judge has ruled that the FTC antitrust lawsuit against Qualcomm can proceed, reports Reuters.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh of the Northern District of California in San Jose denied Qualcomm's motion to dismiss the FTC's lawsuit, saying the agency's allegations would amount to anticompetitive behavior on Qualcomm's part if proved true.

The FTC sued Qualcomm in January alleging that the company engaged in anti-competitive tactics to maintain a monopoly on cellular modem chips. They highlighted the same 'no license, no chips' policy which Apple recently sued the company over. Qualcomm refuses to sell its chips to customers unless they also sign a patent license agreement and pay the company fees. The FTC says Qualcomm also refuses to grant licenses to rivals.


In response, Qualcomm says the "FTC will have the burden to prove its claims, which we continue to believe are without merit."

Both Intel and Samsung filed briefs opposing Qualcomm's request to have the case dismissed. Judge Koh ruled that the FTC had "adequately alleged" anticompetitive behavior.

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