Qualcomm must license some of its modem technology to competitors such as Intel, a US federal judge has ruled. The preliminary ruling came in a competition lawsuit against Qualcomm brought by the US Federal Trade Commission in early 2017, Reuters reports. The lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial next year.
District Court Judge Lucy Koh granted the FTC's motion for partial summary judgment in its suit against Qualcomm. It had sought a ruling that declared "two industry agreements obligate Qualcomm to license its essential patents to competing modem chip suppliers." Koh agreed with the motion and said Qualcomm has to give rivals like Intel access to its technology, Cnet reports.
"Undisputed evidence in Qualcomm's own documents demonstrates that a modem chip is a core component of the cellular handset, which only underscores how a [standard essential patent] license to supply modem chips is for the purpose of practicing or implementing cellular standards and why Qualcomm cannot discriminate against modem chip suppliers," Koh wrote.
Qualcomm and the FTC had jointly asked Koh last month to delay ruling on the issue for up to 30 days while they pursued settlement talks. Koh denied that motion.
Qualcomm did not immediately return a request for comment, Reuters said. The FTC and Intel declined to comment.
