On Monday, March 29, the US Federal Trade Commission said it would not attempt to challenge last year's decision of the Supreme Court in the case of semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm. Last year, a US appeals court ruled that the corporation did not violate antitrust laws. Yesterday's FTC announcement marks the end of Qualcomm's four-year antitrust case.
In 2017, the FTC launched an investigation against Qualcomm, accusing it of abusing its dominant position in the chip market. Among other things, the FTC charged the corporation with refusing to grant licenses to competitors for microchips that are basic for the industry and forcing manufacturers of mobile gadgets to pay inflated royalties. Complaints against Qualcomm have been filed by Apple, Samsung and Intel, among others. Qualcomm's first-instance court ruled that the company's practices violated antitrust laws, but Qualcomm then challenged this decision in an appellate court.
The FTC had
the opportunity to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court but
decided not to. FTC's head Rebecca Slaughter said she agrees with the
trial court that Qualcomm violated antitrust rules but faced
"substantial opposition" when trying to challenge the appeal court's
ruling.
