WASHINGTON (US) – The Federal Trade Commission had accused Qualcomm Inc of breaking antitrust law in selling chips for smartphones. However, the agency has decided that it would not ask the US Supreme Court to review its appeals again.
In October, the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said it would not rehear arguments over whether the San Diego, California-based company had engaged in anticompetitive patent-licensing practices to keep a monopoly on the market for modem chips that connect smart phones to wireless data networks. A three-judge panel on that court had ruled in August that the FTC failed to prove its case.
In a statement, Acting FTC Chairwoman Rebecca Slaughter noted “significant headwinds facing the Commission in this matter” in deciding to not petition the Supreme Court.
“I continue to believe that the district court’s conclusion that Qualcomm violated the antitrust laws was entirely correct and that the court of appeals erred in concluding otherwise,” she added.
