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30 June 2017Patents

European Commission freezes Qualcomm probe

The European Commission has stopped the clock on its probe into Qualcomm’s proposed $47 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors.

A spokesperson for the Commission confirmed that the investigation was halted on Wednesday, June 28, because the parties had failed to provide an “important piece of information” that the Commission had requested from them.

“To comply with merger deadlines, parties must supply the necessary information for the investigation in a timely fashion,” said the spokesperson.

The investigation was instituted on June 9, sparked by the Commission’s concerns that the transaction could lead to higher prices, less choice and reduced innovation in the semiconductor industry.

According to the Commission, the merged entity would have the “ability and incentive” to modify NXP’s current IP licensing practices, in particular in relation to near-field communication (NFC) chips technology.

The investigation will look at whether such conduct, which includes bundling the acquired NFC IP to Qualcomm’s patent portfolio, could lead to anti-competitive effects.

“Once the missing information is supplied by the parties, the clock is re-started and the deadline for the Commission’s decision is then adjusted accordingly,” said the spokesperson.

Yesterday, WIPR reported that a judge had denied Qualcomm’s request to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit brought against it by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the US.

The FTC had filed a complaint in January this year, accusing Qualcomm of using unfair licensing tactics to “maintain its monopoly” in the supply of key semiconductor devices.

Qualcomm is also tangled up in litigation with Apple, after the technology company accused Qualcomm of abusing its monopoly in the mobile device market to gain unfair royalties from Apple’s inventions.

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