Qualcomm apparently abused the standard essential patent

Mar 23, 2017 12:17 GMT  ·  By

Qualcomm is undoubtedly the biggest chipset maker out there, and its Snapdragon platforms equip many smartphones available on the market. By contrast, Samsung’s very own Exynos chip powers devices created by the South Korean company.

Samsung’s Exynos chips don’t make it to smartphones developed by other companies on the market, although Samsung often creates Exynos chips that provide similar performance as Snapdragon platforms.

The South Korean company equips its Galaxy S flagships with Exynos chips in certain countries, while the other variants run the latest Snapdragon platforms. Considering that Exynos chips can take on Qualcomm’s platform in terms of performance, it’s quite curious that they haven’t been featured in other phones, except for those made by Chinese manufacturer Meizu.

The South Korean Fair Trade Commission has answered to this question. According to reports from the country, Qualcomm blocked Samsung from selling its Exynos chipsets to other smartphone makers, like LG, Huawei or Xiaomi.

Samsung may be blocked from selling Exynos chips

Apparently, Qualcomm abused the standard essential patent license and prevented Samsung from selling modems and integrated chipsets for about 25 years, said the Fair Trade Commission. Officials said in the resolution on the case of Qualcomm’s abuse of its market power that “Samsung Electronics has been blocked from selling its modem chipsets to other smartphone manufacturers due to a license deal it signed with Qualcomm.”

Back in December last year, the Fair Trade Commission decided to fine Qualcomm with $865 million over antitrust violations. The company violated the competition law and granted limited access to standard essential patents to competing chip makers.

Qualcomm intends to appeal the decision, as the company stated that it “strongly disagrees with the KFTC’s announced decision, which Qualcomm believes is inconsistent with the facts and the law, reflects a flawed process and represents a violation of due process rights owed American companies under the Korea-U.S.”

At the start of this year, Apple sued Qualcomm over excessive royalties and the Cupertino company is seeking $1 billion in damages. The lawsuit claims that Qualcomm charged Apple up to five times more in payments than any other patent licensors.