Qualcomm to appeal Seoul High Court competition ruling
Qualcomm has revealed plans to file an “immediate appeal” against a Seoul High Court ruling that denied Qualcomm’s request to stay an order issued against it by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC).
Yesterday, September 4, the court rejected Qualcomm’s bid to suspend the KFTC’s December decision, which saw Qualcomm fined W1.03 trillion ($912.34 million) for unfair business practices in patent licensing.
The KFTC order requires Qualcomm to engage in good-faith negotiations with chip companies seeking a licence and to negotiate possible amendments with current licensees upon request.
Qualcomm reportedly filed its appeal with a district court in February to suspend the order, according to news website The Investor.
In a statement, released today, Qualcomm announced the court’s decision and its intention to appeal against the ruling.
“The court denied Qualcomm’s stay application after finding that the company’s business will not suffer irreparable harm if the KFTC’s order remains in effect,” it read.
As well as a request to suspend the order, Qualcomm had filed a separate case with the Seoul High Court to completely nullify the commission’s decision.
The company went on to say that the court’s decision “does not impact Qualcomm’s appeal of the underlying KFTC decision”, which the Seoul High Court will consider separately at a later date.
“Qualcomm continues to believe that the KFTC’s decision is not supported by the facts and law, and was the product of a hearing and investigation that denied Qualcomm fundamental due process rights,” said the statement.
It’s been a busy year for Qualcomm in the patent arena, in both Korea and the US.
In January this year, Apple sued Qualcomm in the US for approximately $1 billion, alleging that Qualcomm was “charging royalties for technologies they have nothing to do with”.
Qualcomm filed a counterclaim in April, stating that Apple had “failed” to uphold its share of the bargain in a business co-operation and patent agreement between the companies.
Apple subsequently followed up with a request to invalidate a number of Qualcomm patents in June, before the US International Trade Commission announced its plans to investigate the issue last month.
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