US watchdog kills off four-year antitrust complaint against Qualcomm, still insists it was right anyway
(2021/03/30)
- Reference: 1617137885
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/03/30/ftc_qualcomm_lawsuit/
- Source link:
The Federal Trade Commission has given up its antitrust lawsuit against Qualcomm although the US watchdog still claims the chip maker violated fair competition laws.
Qualcomm was accused of forcing smartphone makers into unfair supply agreements, locking competitors out by withholding licences for its technology, and more in the [1]lawsuit filed by the FTC in 2017. Two years later, a court in northern California ruled that Qualcomm had broken antitrust laws Qualcomm fought back, and a panel of judges at the US Court of Appeals [2]reversed the initial decision and declined to hear any more about it.
[3]
The FTC could have taken the case to America's Supreme Court but has now decided to drop the lawsuit altogether. Acting chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter confirmed on Monday the regulator will not be taking the legal complaint any further.
Appeals judges toss out FTC win: What Qualcomm did to its rivals was 'hypercompetitive, not anticompetitive' [4]READ MORE
[5]
“Given the significant headwinds facing the Commission in this matter, the FTC will not petition the Supreme Court to review the decision of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in FTC v. Qualcomm,” she [6]said in a statement. Slaughter was not involved in the initial efforts to go after the Californian chip biz.
Nevertheless, she said she “[continues] to believe that the district court’s conclusion that Qualcomm violated the antitrust laws was entirely correct and that the court of appeals erred in concluding otherwise.”
The decision marks an end to the four-year legal spat.
The Register has asked Qualcomm for comment. The FTC declined to make any additional comment beyond its statement.
[7]
“Now more than ever, the FTC and other law enforcement agencies need to boldly enforce the antitrust laws to guard against abusive behavior by dominant firms, including in high-technology markets and those that involve intellectual property,” Slaughter concluded. "I am particularly concerned about the potential for anticompetitive or unfair behavior in the context of standard setting and the FTC will closely monitor conduct in this arena." ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2017/01/18/qualcomm_ftc_monopoly/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/12/qualcomm_ftc_judgement/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YGOfgO@xrqqFH8mmqr0pQwAAAAE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/12/qualcomm_ftc_judgement/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YGOfgO@xrqqFH8mmqr0pQwAAAAE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/03/statement-acting-chairwoman-rebecca-kelly-slaughter-agencys
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YGOfgO@xrqqFH8mmqr0pQwAAAAE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Qualcomm was accused of forcing smartphone makers into unfair supply agreements, locking competitors out by withholding licences for its technology, and more in the [1]lawsuit filed by the FTC in 2017. Two years later, a court in northern California ruled that Qualcomm had broken antitrust laws Qualcomm fought back, and a panel of judges at the US Court of Appeals [2]reversed the initial decision and declined to hear any more about it.
[3]
The FTC could have taken the case to America's Supreme Court but has now decided to drop the lawsuit altogether. Acting chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter confirmed on Monday the regulator will not be taking the legal complaint any further.
Appeals judges toss out FTC win: What Qualcomm did to its rivals was 'hypercompetitive, not anticompetitive' [4]READ MORE
[5]
“Given the significant headwinds facing the Commission in this matter, the FTC will not petition the Supreme Court to review the decision of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in FTC v. Qualcomm,” she [6]said in a statement. Slaughter was not involved in the initial efforts to go after the Californian chip biz.
Nevertheless, she said she “[continues] to believe that the district court’s conclusion that Qualcomm violated the antitrust laws was entirely correct and that the court of appeals erred in concluding otherwise.”
The decision marks an end to the four-year legal spat.
The Register has asked Qualcomm for comment. The FTC declined to make any additional comment beyond its statement.
[7]
“Now more than ever, the FTC and other law enforcement agencies need to boldly enforce the antitrust laws to guard against abusive behavior by dominant firms, including in high-technology markets and those that involve intellectual property,” Slaughter concluded. "I am particularly concerned about the potential for anticompetitive or unfair behavior in the context of standard setting and the FTC will closely monitor conduct in this arena." ®
Get our [8]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2017/01/18/qualcomm_ftc_monopoly/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/12/qualcomm_ftc_judgement/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YGOfgO@xrqqFH8mmqr0pQwAAAAE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/12/qualcomm_ftc_judgement/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YGOfgO@xrqqFH8mmqr0pQwAAAAE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/03/statement-acting-chairwoman-rebecca-kelly-slaughter-agencys
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YGOfgO@xrqqFH8mmqr0pQwAAAAE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
So pretty much...
IGotOut
most of the world finds them guilty except their own country.
Hmmmm.
Probably because no one is willing to testify against them
Only their customers can detail the bad things they may have done, but they're all too afraid of retaliation to do so. Apple had cooperated with the FTC while they were fighting Qualcomm in court, but eventually they were forced to knuckle under and even a company Apple's size can't risk Qualcomm retaliating.
At least not until they have their own modem enabled across their entire product line, and they'd still have to worry about patent level retaliation even then.