A federal judge dealt a setback Tuesday to Qualcomm Inc.’s defense against an antitrust lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission, ruling that the chip maker must license some of its industry-essential patents to rival chip suppliers. Qualcomm must license some of its industry-essential patents to rival chip suppliers, but the chip maker said it would hurt their business model. This year, Apple dropped Qualcomm as a supplier of modem chips for its latest lineup of iPhones, relying instead on chips from Intel. The FTC sued Qualcomm in early 2017, alleging the company engaged in unlawful tactics to maintain a monopoly on baseband processors used in cellphones. The trial is set to begin in January, though the FTC and Qualcomm have engaged in settlement negotiations.

Source: thestar November 07, 2018 02:48 UTC