South Korea fines Qualcomm a record-setting $850M

Regulators from South Korea state that Qualcomm’s patent licensing techniques violate Korean unfair competition laws. As a result, the company is forced to pay a fine of 1.03 trillion won, or roughly $850 million (£695 million). Qualcomm said it plans to appeal the enormous fine in court.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) noted that Qualcomm refused to license specific standard-essential patents on its chips to competitors like Intel, Samsung, and MediaTek. The commission required that Qualcomm renegotiate the licenses; the fine is the largest ever issued in Korea.

It’s noted in a report that Qualcomm makes a majority of its profits — approximately $6.5 billion in the recent year — from selling the rights to its chip technology.

Qualcomm “has violated its agreement to license patents on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms, known as FRAND,” the Commission said in a statement.

Firing back, Qualcomm issued a statement stating that the punishment is “an unprecedented and insupportable decision, relating to licensing practices that have been in existence in Korea and worldwide for decades.” They also noted that the KFTC showed no evidence of harm to its competition that it suggests is “robust among chip and handset suppliers” because Qualcomm’s model promotes competition.

While the KFTC directive will not be official until it issues a written statement and order, which usually takes roughly four to six months, Qualcomm said that it plans to immediately appeal. The company is still required to pay the penalty within 60 days after the written order is out, but it will be subject to refund based on the appeal.

Source: Ars Technica