Licensing contract

The US Federal Trade Commission's case against Qualcomm is now in the hands of a judge. The two sides on Tuesday presented their hourlong closing arguments in the case that could have big implications for the technology world. The FTC has accused Qualcomm of operating a monopoly in the mobile chip market, which hurt rivals and caused handset makers to raise their prices. For the FTC to win the case, it has the burden of showing that Qualcomm had a monopoly, that it had market power and that it used that power in negotiations with handset makers to command high royalties. The FTC also has to show Qualcomm's conduct hurt competitors and that the anticompetitive actions continue or will start again in the future. FTC attorney Jennifer Milici kicked off court Tuesday afternoon by detailing how Qualcomm used its power in the 3G and 4G chip market to force handset makers like Apple to sign licensing agreements with excessively high royalties. If Qualcomm isn't stopped, she … [Read more...] about FTC, Qualcomm give closing arguments in trial over mobile chip licenses

Qualcomm doesn't have all the power when it came to negotiating licensing contracts, a company executive testified Friday. Instead, handset makers have options to reach terms they view as more favorable, he said. Fabian Gonell, senior vice president of licensing strategy and legal counsel for Qualcomm's licensing business, said during a trial on Friday that Samsung, Sony Mobile and others have reached agreements with Qualcomm that differed from its normal pacts. He noted that Qualcomm didn't stop providing chips to them while the licensing agreements were being disputed, and he added there was no part of Qualcomm's licensing agreements that wasn't negotiable.  "We had a provision that had to do with export compliance [that was] considered untouchable," Gonell said. "But at some point, somebody wanted to touch it, and it was touchable."Gonell's testimony on Friday shed light into Qualcomm's licensing practices. He sought to counteract statements by Apple and others … [Read more...] about Qualcomm didn’t have all the license negotiating power, exec testifies