Qualcomm Inc unlawfully crushed opposition in the market for smartphone chips by frightening to cut off stocks and eliciting extreme licensing fees, a US judge controlled a decision that could force the company to improve its business practices.
US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, verdict announced the verdict, late Tuesday night, which prompted Qualcomm shares to fall 11.4 percent on Wednesday.
Koh wrote in a 233-page ruling:
“Qualcomm’s licensing disciplines have stifled race” in parts of the chip market for years, hurting competitors, smartphone makers, and users”.
She ordered the San Diego-based company to renegotiate licensing agreements at fair prices, harmlessly to cut off supplies and ordered that it be observed for seven total years to guarantee its agreement.
Well, the company responded saying, it will quickly oblige Koh to put her verdict on hold, and also endeavor a quick appeal to the federal claims court in California.
General Counsel Don Rosenberg said in a statement:
“We firmly deny with the judge’s summing-up, her analysis of the facts and her employment of the law”.
Koh’s decision mirrored a 10-day non-jury trial in January and is a triumph for the US Federal Trade Commission, which has attacked Qualcomm in 2017 of outraging antitrust law.
The verdict resulted in Qualcomm’s April 16 settlement of a long-running legal battle with Apple Inc, where Apple admitted once again to use Qualcomm chips in its iPhones, dislodging Intel Corp.
It is shadowed whether the bans will be challenged by the US Department of Justice, which ought asked Koh on May 2 to hold a hearing on that subject if Qualcomm were found accountable.