The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requested a review of the antitrust lawsuit on Friday. She lost an appeal against chip maker Qualcomm.
The US Federal Trade Commission asked the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to hold a hearing between eleven justices.
Last month, a three-judge appeals court overturned a lower court ruling against the San Diego-based company, a leading maker of cell phone chips and a key wireless technology to develop the US 5G network. Source.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit also revoked a injunction, forcing Qualcomm to change its intellectual property licensing practices.
Opposing the FTC's decision in May 2019, Qualcomm said Qualcomm's practice is to force phone manufacturers to sign a patent licensing agreement before selling patents that would stifle competition and harm consumers.
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| Federal Trade Commission moves against Qualcomm |
In addition to the chips, Qualcomm also has standard wireless technology and requires all smartphone manufacturers to license these patents.
The company will not sell the chips to companies that do not have licenses for these and other patents, and there is evidence in court that Qualcomm will cut patent fees for customers who buy its chips.
The court ruled that these practices created an additional, anti-competitive cost for the competitive trading chips.
A jury of three judges from the Court of Appeals contested the decision: Qualcomm applies these practices under patent law and applies them impartially to all participants, which means it will not harm Qualcomm's competitors.
The Federal Trade Commission said on Friday that the ruling was a mistake in law. The Federal Trade Commission wrote in a document: The Commission’s error casts doubt on fundamental questions of antitrust principles and encouraged monopolies to hide under the guise of patent laws for anti-competitive behavior.
Qualcomm's business model often leads to disputes with mobile phone manufacturers. Most notably Apple, which supports the FTC case and has filed another antitrust suit against Qualcomm.
Apple signed an agreement with Qualcomm in 2018, in which it signed a licensing agreement and an agreement to supply chips.