A US judge ruled that Qualcomm (QCOM.O) illegally suppressed competition in the smartphone chip market by threatening to suspend supply and charge excessive licensing fees. This ruling may force Qualcomm to adjust its business conduct.
The decision made by Lucy Koh, a judge in the San Jose area of California, on Tuesday night, hit Qualcomm's share price fell nearly 11% on Wednesday.
Koh wrote in a 233-page verdict that Qualcomm's licensing behavior has smashed competition in some chip markets for years, hurting competitors, smartphone makers and consumers.
She ordered Qualcomm to renegotiate the licensing agreement at a reasonable price, not to threaten to cut off the supply, and to supervise the company for seven years to ensure compliance with the judgment.
Qualcomm said it would immediately request Koh to suspend its ruling and will file a fast appeal with the California Federal Court of Appeal.
"We strongly disagree with the judge's conclusions, her interpretation of the facts, and the regulations cited," Qualcomm's chief legal counsel Don Rosenberg said in a statement.
Koh conducted a 10-day non-jury trial in January and then made the above ruling, arguing that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) won the case. The FTC accused Qualcomm of violating antitrust laws in 2017.
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