Apple is not happy with its longtime partner Qualcomm, as it has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the chip maker for allegedly being charged “royalties for technologies [that Qualcomm has] nothing to do with. ”
This is the second major lawsuit filed against Qualcomm this week, with the US Federal Trading Commission announcing on Tuesday that it is taking the chip maker to court for “monopolizing key semiconductor device used in cell phones. ” The two lawsuits are related.
The FTC claims that “Qualcomm has used its dominant position as a supplier of certain baseband processors to impose onerous and anticompetitive supply and licensing terms on cell phone manufacturers and to weaken competitors. ” According to the agency, it managed to receive higher royalties and better terms for standard-essential patents, which normally fall under FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms), as a result of its practices.
