Apple has filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm, the world’s dominant supplier of baseband processors, alleging the chip supplier demanded unfair terms for its technology. Earlier this week Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint in federal district court charging Qualcomm Inc. with using anticompetitive tactics to maintain its monopoly in the supply of a key semiconductor device used in cell phones and other consumer products.
“For many years Qualcomm has unfairly insisted on charging royalties for technologies they have nothing to do with,” argues Apple. “The more Apple innovates with unique features such as TouchID, advanced displays, and cameras, to name just a few, the more money Qualcomm collects for no reason and the more expensive it becomes for Apple to fund these innovations. Qualcomm built its business on older, legacy, standards but reinforces its dominance through exclusionary tactics and excessive royalties. Despite being just one of over a dozen companies who contributed to basic cellular standards, Qualcomm insists on charging Apple at least five times more in payments than all the other cellular patent licensors we have agreements with combined.”
Apple further alleges Qualcomm has withheld $1 billion in payments as retaliatory measure “for responding truthfully” to law enforcement agency investigation into the company.
