Qualcomm Wins Partial Stay of Chip Licensing Conditions in FTC Antitrust Lawsuit

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted Qualcomm a partial stay Friday in its appeal of an FTC lawsuit over the company's alleged mobile chip monopoly (see 1907230045). The ruling affects portions of an earlier decision barring the chipmaker “from conditioning chip sales on the purchase of patent licenses.” The court also set oral argument on Qualcomm’s expedited appeal for January. The company believes the district court’s ruling will be overturned, said Executive Vice President Donald Rosenberg. The decision allows the company to “continue to invest in inventing the fundamental technologies at the heart of mobile communications at this critical time of transition to 5G.” The FTC looks forward to defending the district court’s decision, said Competition Bureau Director Bruce Hoffman, noting the agency will continue to monitor whether Qualcomm is meeting obligations. He noted other provisions remain in effect during appeal: “Qualcomm may not enter express or de facto exclusive dealing agreements for the supply of modem chips; Qualcomm may not interfere with the ability of any customer to communicate with government agencies; and Qualcomm must submit to compliance and monitoring procedures.”