Qualcomm Accused of Forcing Deal on Apple to Thwart Rivals
- FTC accuses chipmaker of monopoly for requiring exclusivity
- Suit is latest salvo against Qualcomm’s licensing practices
Qualcomm Faces U.S. Antitrust Case
This article is for subscribers only.
Qualcomm Inc. forced Apple Inc. to use its chips exclusively in return for lower licensing fees, unfairly cutting out competitors, the U.S. said in a lawsuit against the biggest maker of mobile phone chips.
Qualcomm’s exclusive deal with Apple was detailed in a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit accusing the chipmaker of illegally maintaining a monopoly for semiconductors used in mobile phones and pocketing elevated royalties from customers.