South Korea to determine Qualcomm monopoly will be fine 854 million US dollars

South Korea's antitrust authorities said Wednesday that Qualcomm has imposed a penalty of 1.03 trillion won ($ 854 million) for its patents and smartphone modem chip sales that hamper competition.
The amount of this fine set a record of South Korea's anti-monopoly punishment.
South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said that Qualcomm used its market-leading advantage, to buy its chips Korean companies charge some do not charge royalties. Qualcomm also denies or restricts the licensing of its Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) to competitors such as Intel, Samsung Electronics and MediaTek, hampering competition.
The KFTC requires Qualcomm to correct its business practices and negotiate with the chipmaker's opponents on patent licensing issues in an unfair way, such as restricting which potential customers can sell chips to authorized customers. bq30z50
KFTC also ordered Qualcomm to cancel the modem chip sales agreement signed with the mobile phone manufacturers should not charge some of the patent should be made too much demand. If the mobile phone manufacturers to renegotiate the terms of the contract, Qualcomm must agree.
"This case fundamentally corrects a business model that is being used by Qualcomm to sustain and expand its dominant position," the KFTC said in a statement.
Qualcomm's current business model is based on the use of its chip mobile phone prices, rather than the price of the chip, to collect royalties from enterprises.
Qualcomm said in a statement, the company will apply for the suspension of the implementation of the rectification order KFTC, and the decision will appeal to the Seoul High Court. Qualcomm will also appeal the fine amount and calculation method. Qualcomm must pay a fine within 60 days.
Qualcomm also said it strongly disagreed with the decision announced by the KFTC that the decision violated the facts and laws, violating the rights under the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS).
Qualcomm said: "This decision does not qualitatively explain how Qualcomm violates the competition law and lacks evidence that Qualcomm is hampering competition, and competition between chip suppliers and handset manufacturers is fierce due to Qualcomm's business model, and KFTC So the decision was made because they failed to comply with the Korean-American Free Trade Agreement to ensure the rights of American companies to develop procedural safeguards, Qualcomm did not exercise the power to view all the evidence and cross-examination at the hearing of the power. Trying to disrupt patent licensing practices that have been universally accepted by the wireless industry, including government agencies such as the Korea Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, and South Korean companies such as Samsung and LG that have kept companies away from investment-based technologies and shared with the industry The amount of this fine is totally unreasonable and does not match the size of the Korean market. cu16025ecpb
"This decision does not take into account the value of a number of Qualcomm patents," said Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel for Qualcomm. "Qualcomm invests heavily in the development of basic mobile technology and licenses its technology patents broadly to Mobile phone manufacturers and other institutions, in Korea and around the world to promote the explosive growth of the mobile communications industry, to consumers a huge benefit, and promote the mobile ecosystem at all levels of competition.
As early as May of this year, sources said, KFTC has been identified within the patent licensing practices Qualcomm abuse of the standard necessary patents, contrary to the fair, reasonable, non-discrimination (FRAND) principle, and improper use of its market leading position.
The KFTC survey of Qualcomm began in April 2014.
In February 2015, Qualcomm agreed to pay $ 975 million to China antitrust fines. By the end of 2015, the EU accuses Qualcomm of anti-competitive behavior. Regulators from the US and China Taiwan are also investigating Qualcomm.