If the case all sounds very confusing, it’s because it is. ... the FTC has now appealed its Qualcomm case to the full Ninth Circuit. We share them in a variety of ways, including through a chip-agnostic licensing program that allows our customers and licensees to build upon our technologies and create amazing products, including smartphones and the growing number of connected devices. Patrick was ranked the #1 analyst out of 8,000 in the ARInsights Power 100 rankings and the #1 most cited analyst as ranked by Apollo Research. Unlike other analyst firms, Moorhead held executive positions leading strategy, marketing, and product groups. There were a lot of bizarre contradictions within the initial filing (read more here). Dissenting Statement of Commissioner Maureen K. Ohlhausen regarding the FTC filing a case against Qualcomm. So this case was brought in January 2017, and from the beginning, the case was rather unique. 28/10/2020 10:02pm Dow Jones News ... year to throw out a government antitrust case against Qualcomm Inc. I have also served as a “key witness” (legal term) in one of the largest antitrust cases between Intel and AMD. Patrick founded Moor. The company is known for its "no license, no chip policy" and it also charges royalties based on the retail price of a phone rather the price of the component used by the manufacturer. For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com . This never happens and could ultimately help Qualcomm. In a recent article here, I wrote that two independent IP analyst firms give Qualcomm the highest value wireless portfolio. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. Mobile has not only become the world’s largest technology platform, it has achieved that scale faster than any technology in human history. If the judges seemed skeptical of the DOJ’s assertions that the ruling would affect national security, they seemed even more suspicious of the FTC’s case for Qualcomm’s anticompetitive behavior. What would be anticompetitive about that?”. I'm not a lawyer and don't pretend to be one, but I do have 30 years of tech industry experience as an OEM, chipmaker and now a technology industry analyst. We are pleased with the Court of Appeals’ complete, unanimous reversal of the district court’s judgment. © 2021 Forbes Media LLC. Why would Qualcomm benefit from destroying Qualcomm? Obviously, Qualcomm would prefer the whole matter to be settled by the 9th Circuit, given the seemingly receptive audience it’s found in the Court. Moorhead is also a contributor for both Forbes, CIO, and the Next Platform. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. The FTC had to prove that Qualcomm’s royalty rates were the dominant factor keeping these other companies down, and I just didn’t see a convincing argument, especially when some of these companies had significantly more money than Qualcomm. We thank the court for its time and efforts,”, - Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel of Qualcomm. To sum up, all three judges seemingly cast doubt on the FTC’s case through their line of questioning. 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Update: FTC Sues Qualcomm, Charging Anticompetitive Conduct ... "The portrayal of facts offered by the FTC as the basis for the agency’s case is significantly flawed. There’s also the point to be made about Qualcomm’s competitors, that there are a lot of reasons why chip companies succeed and fail. The FTC and Apple sued the company in 2017, alleging it leveraged its status as a key supplier of mobile-phone chips to extract unfair fees for its licensing division. Lawyers with the DOJ argued that if Justice Koh’s decision was upheld, it would potentially harm U.S. national security interests, given the importance of communications chips and Qualcomm’s position as the biggest modem chipmaker in America given its chief rivals, Samsung, Mediatek, and Huawei are based in in Asia. One thing that is extremely notable is that, in an unprecedented move, the Department of Justice appears to be openly going against the FTC in the case. In what I’ve seen previously, confused judges are never a good sign for the prosecution. Jan 5, 2021 5:25 PM UTC ... and last year won the FTC case … Qualcomm uses its one-of-a-kind expertise to tackle systems-level engineering problems that can take a decade or more to solve. The other laughable idea was that Qualcomm took advantage of Apple. Update: This story has been updated to include more information from the order and comments from the FTC and Qualcomm. You may opt-out by. Qualcomm Inc. won a partial stay against the enforcement of a sweeping antitrust ruling in a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), according to a court filing on Friday. Net-net, I believe the FTC failed and continues to fail to make its case against Qualcomm. Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen, the dissenting vote, issued a … I am not a lawyer, but I’ve seen a lot of technology antitrust activity and feel experienced enough with the topic to speak on it. A temporary stay was issued, to that effect, by the Ninth Circuit court in August. There are several scenarios that could play out after a ruling is issued. The judges appeared skeptical of the DOJ’s position, however, requesting more specific evidence from the DOJ’s attorney to substantiate the assertions. What's clear to me in this case is that Qualcomm invested billions in very risky research to get ahead in wireless innovations. These include the citing of previous global FTC rulings against Qualcomm that had subsequently been overturned, the fact that competition in 4G and 5G was/is actually booming, the lack of actual demonstrable harm done by Qualcomm’s licensing practices to competition among chip vendors, to smartphone handset makers such as Apple, to consumers, the utilization of Huawei as a “star witness” when they, perhaps more than anyone else, would benefit from a weakened Qualcomm, and more. Over 30 years of our mobile invention has led to the Invention Age. Overall, the tenor of the judges’ questions seemed to indicate a significant skepticism of the FTC’s arguments and the merits of its case against the semiconductor company—particularly in the question of whether or not the company’s practices go beyond hyper-competition into something that could be considered anti-competitive. The decision validates our business model and licensing program and underscores the tremendous contributions that Qualcomm has made to the industry. The FTC filed a complaint in federal district court charging Qualcomm Inc. with using anticompetitive tactics to maintain its monopoly in the supply of a key semiconductor device used in cell phones and other consumer products. “The fact that not one judge on the Ninth Circuit thought it necessary to consider the merits of the FTC’s petition or to even ask for a response from Qualcomm validates the strength and clarity of the panel’s thorough analysis and conclusions. He served as an executive board member of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the American Electronics Association (AEA) and chaired the board of the St. David’s Medical Center for five years, designated by Thomson Reuters as one of the 100 Top Hospitals in America. He went on to say that it was a “challenging” case that could take some time to rule on. Qualcomm presented its key arguments to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals several weeks ago on February 13th. The official website of the Federal Trade Commission, protecting America’s consumers for over 100 years. She leveled a permanent injunction against that practice. Qualcomm’s business model often prompted conflict with phone makers, most notably Apple Inc, which supported the FTC’s case and mounted a separate antitrust lawsuit against Qualcomm. Patrick was ranked the #1 analyst out of 8,000 in the ARInsights Power 100 rankings and the #1 most cited analyst as ranked by Apollo Research. FTC Request to Reconsider Qualcomm Antitrust Case Rejected by Appeals Court -- Update. Development denotes expenditures to productize that research, which many companies invest in. FTC Request to Reconsider Qualcomm Antitrust Case Rejected by Appeals Court -- Update. Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf to Step Down, Names Cristiano Amon as Successor — 3rd update Provided by Dow Jones. The company on May 21 lost in an antitrust lawsuit and has been fighting to have the ruling put on hold while it pursued an appeal. He has nearly 30 years of experience including 15 years as an executive at high tech companies leading strategy, product management, product marketing, and corporate marketing, including three industry board appointments. Apple would beg to differ. Last May, a US District Court Judge, Lucy Koh, ruled in the FTC’s favor and found Qualcomm guilty. The current FTC v. Qualcomm case is vastly different, in that the two companies that apparently have been screaming they were damaged are four times and 10 times larger than Qualcomm… Qualcomm (ticker: QCOM) quickly sought an expedited appeal, asking Koh to stay, or hold, her decision until the case could be heard. We invented foundational technologies of 5G, which is creating an intelligently connected future for people and things. We don’t keep our inventions – covered by over 140,000 patents and patent applications – to ourselves. The crux of the question being litigated is whether or not Qualcomm’s tactics are anticompetitive or simply capitalistic and profitable. The Court could issue a ruling anywhere from 3 to 15 months from now. Apple believed what Qualcomm was charging was above and beyond what was fair, and that when it couldn’t agree to a fee, it had to let the court decide and held payments until that time because the company didn’t know what to pay. Those numbers and the ever-growing mobile ecosystem support our unwavering belief in the effectiveness of our program to enable competition, both beget and transform industries, and enrich lives everywhere. Only three were present for the vote, as the other two were already leaving the administration. I’m sorry, folks, Apple was never the victim. Here are some choice quotes from that article I believe illustrate what was really going on: Please read the full Washington Post article and the presentation so that you get the full perspective. After a bench trial that was heard in January 2019, last October Judge Lucy Koh ruled in favor of the FTC and against Qualcomm.Judge Koh found that many of Qualcomm's actions violated antitrust law. Just check out this Washington Post article. 10/28/2020 | 04:48pm EST ... year to throw out a government antitrust case against Qualcomm Inc. Over 30 years of our mobile invention has led to the Invention Age. Today I wanted to talk a little bit about that appeal and how I felt it did not go well for the FTC. Moorhead also has significant board experience. Thanks to the Qualcomm team and collaboration within the entire mobile industry, the next generation of wireless, 5G, debuted a year ahead of schedule. Qualcomm to ask appeals court for vindication in FTC antitrust case Qualcomm Inc will urge a US appeals court to reverse a ruling that it abused its position as a giant of the semiconductor industry and overcharged smartphone makers for access to its patented technology. The district court’s original ruling for the FTC would have stopped Qualcomm ... We thank the panel for its thoughtful consideration of this important case. Additionally, I believe it could potentially hurt U.S. competitiveness in 5G, autonomous cars, smart cities, and impact its national security and more. Then, there are leadership stumbles, problems with execution, problems with architecture. While Qualcomm’s attorneys were certainly also questioned by the judges, it seemed to me as though there was not the same level of skepticism underpinning these lines of questioning. This leaves intact the panel’s unanimous decision which reversed and vacated the district court ruling in its entirety. If you look at most Android handsets on the planet, they contain Qualcomm silicon and IP. I believe Qualcomm's advantage and investment simply made it more difficult for competitors to keep up. Time will tell, but I think the appeal hearing signals at least a partial win for Qualcomm. I think the FTC was trying to show this (during Koh’s trial), but its main anti-trust argument, was that Qualcomm used its market power to force others to pay higher royalties than they wanted to, and Qualcomm used this extra revenue to keep others from effectively competing with Qualcomm. For that matter, the third voting member voiced a strong dissent. On February 13, the Ninth Circuit heard oral argument in the FTC v. Qualcomm case. Tom Goldstein, representing Qualcomm, delivers remarks to the three judges overseeing the appeal. People scoffed at me early on when I suggested that Apple was trying to destroy Qualcomm at the beginning of the suit, but unfortunately, I believe I was proven right. From the start, I’ve seen this case as a very significant one, with potential long-term ramifications in terms of the U.S. government essentially acting as an IP price-fixer. Before Patrick started the firm, he spent over 20 years as a high-tech strategy, product, and marketing executive who has addressed the personal computer, mobile, graphics, and server ecosystems. I’ll continue to keep an eye on this as things develop, but if I were Qualcomm, I’d be feeling pretty good right now. Knowing what I know about Apple CEO Tim Cook (we worked at Compaq at the same time, for a very short period of time) there is no possible way that any vendor could push this trillion-dollar company around. Update: Qualcomm unsurprisingly disagrees with the judgement and will be appealing the ruling to the US Court of Appeals 9th Circuit. Update 1 (5/22/19 @ 9:50 AM ET): A US judge has ruled in favor of the FTC and now Qualcomm must stop bundling patent licensing deals with … One was to remove the profits from wireless IP and modems which would lower its cost and make it easier to make its own modems and the second, a bit darker, was to hamstring the Android community. Tim Cook illustrates this position in a CNBC interview here and forward to the 17-minute mark. I write about disruptive companies, technologies and usage models. Declaration of Department of Energy Chief Information Officer Max Everett, United States District Court – Northern District of California, San Jose Division. I believe one of the tactics to reach its objective was to bring a complaint and manufacture evidence to the FTC to trigger this suit. The Federal Trade Commission had alleged the dominant cellphone chip maker engaged in illegal monopolization, but a three-judge panel on the Ninth U.S. Where things stand now: likely a Qualcomm win. I’ve argued since the beginning that the filing was essentially a clown show—a “midnight” filing made right before the inauguration of the Trump administration, which only had the support of two of the five FTC commissioners. At the time, there were only three of the usual five members at the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC. He runs MI&S but is a broad-based analyst covering a wide variety of topics including the software-defined datacenter and the Internet of Things (IoT), and Patrick is a deep expert in client computing and semiconductors. Qualcomm settled its differences with Apple in 2019, and last year won the FTC case in a federal appeals court. But more than that, our history of invention is kick-starting a new age of possibility. Net-net, I believe the FTC failed and continues to fail to make its case against Qualcomm. Today, Qualcomm has hundreds of agreements, and more than 13 billion licensed mobile devices have shipped worldwide. Update: Qualcomm has announced that it will immediately seek a stay of the ruling and an expedited appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. A key issue in the FTC case is how Qualcomm gets paid for licensing its technology. Does our technology transfer program work? Last April, I believe Apple proved me right when an internal Apple document from 2016 called "Qualcomm Royalty Reduction" was presented in the San Diego ODM trial. The FTC had begun investigating Qualcomm in 2014, while governments in Asia and Europe have been looking into the company since around 2009, according to court documents. He is grounded in reality as he has led the planning and execution and had to live with the outcomes. Read how 5G is bringing the world a platform of innovations, redefining communication, powering the digital economy with the possibility of over $12 trillion in future growth, and much more. So, I'd like to think I have a pretty good idea how the tech industry really works and how interactions between companies relate to antitrust. United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Declaration of Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen M. Lord The foundational technology and intelligence we put into 3G and 4G is bringing us 5G, connected cars, and a true Internet of Things. A good example is Broadcom, who made several poor wireless investments and acquisitions. I’m not all that surprised to see the original ruling coming under more scrutiny given the clown show we’ve seen so far. Qualcomm had originally lost an antitrust case against the FTC after it accused the chipmaker of anticompetitive patent licensing in an attempt to … This surfaced many times in the initial FTC trial, where evidence showed that Qualcomm's customers stated in emails that it was light years ahead of the competition with its modems. The company owns the invention by which multiple data streams can use the same set of radio frequencies. We achieved this by investing more than $60 billion in research and development since our founding, and over the last decade we have committed approximately 20 percent of our annual revenues to R&D efforts. Qualcomm has told the Ninth Circuit that a recent decision reversing the Federal Trade Commission's win in a case accusing the chipmaker of monopolizing the market for … What struck me at the outset of the hearing, was that even the judges were confused about the case! That commitment has enabled us to invent many of the foundational technologies at the heart of 3G, 4G, and now 5G wireless products and networks. Research describes expenditures that develop core IP and standards, which very few companies invest in. Patrick founded Moor Insights & Strategy based on in his real-world world technology experiences with the understanding of what he wasn’t getting from analysts and consultants. Other evidence in an internal Bain report commissioned by Qualcomm’s competitor that showed that Qualcomm was twice as efficient in R&D as its next-best competitor. South Korea's Fair Trade Commission on Thursday reduced damages in a decade-old antitrust case involving Qualcomm, with the U.S. chipmaker now facing penalties that amount to … And the vote to bring the case was 2-1. Nothing in these materials is an offer to sell any of the components or devices referenced herein. 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