Intellectual Property Magazine
Federal Trade Commission v Qualcomm Inc
US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit - 11 August 2020
D Brian Kacedon, Dori Johnson Hines (middle) and Kara A Specht (right), Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner
In Federal Trade Commission (FTC) v Qualcomm Inc,
1the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted a significant victory toQualcomm and highlighted challenges in using
US antitrust laws to addressstandard essential patent (SEP) licensing practices. Qualcomm is both oneof the world’s largest
cellular chipmakers and one of the largest owners ofcellular SEPs. Qualcomm committed to license its SEPs on a fair, reasonable,and
non-discriminatory (FRAND) basis. Qualcomm refused, however, to licensechipmaker competitors, instead licensing cell phone
original equipmentmanufacturers (OEMs). Under its “no licence, no chips” policy, Qualcomm alsorequired OEMs to license its
SEPs before it would sell them chips. The FTC contended,
2and the district court agreed, that Qualcomm’s licensing practices wereanti-competitive. The Ninth Circuit reversed, focusing
on two themes: lack ofharm to chipmakers and neutrality ofQualcomm’s licensing policies.