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South Korean watchdog bites Qualcomm

by on27 March 2017


Qualcomm blocked Samsung from flogging Exynos


The South Korea Trade Commission has decided that Qualcomm prevented Samsung from selling its Exynos processors to various third-party phone manufacturers.

Update: We got an official word from Qualcomm about the matter, that is quite straight forward. 

“Qualcomm has never stood in the way of Samsung selling chips to third parties, and nothing in our agreements has ever prevented Samsung from doing so. Any statement to the contrary is false.”

For those who came in late "Exynos" is supplied only for the Samsung Galaxy series. But it had the same performance as Snapdragon and consumers believed that Samsung refrained from supplying Exynos to others to protect its technology.

Apparently Samsung attempted to sell Exynos chipsets to others but Qualcomm blocked Samsung from doing so, at least this is what the commission who is very close to Samsung claims.

The Commission said that Qualcomm abused the "standard essential patent" license to prevent Samsung from selling its modems and integrated chipsets for about 25 years.

The Commission's report claims that Qualcomm abused its standard-essential patents -- which define technical standards like Wi-Fi and 4G - to prevent Samsung from selling its modems, integrated processors, and other chips to smartphone makers like LG, Huawei, Xiaomi, and others," reports Digital TrendsWhat doesn't add up that Meizu was the only company that was using the Exynos SoC for its phones, and apparently Samsung and Meizu didn't mind the alleged infliction. 

South Korea Trade Commission's rules require that standard-essential patents be licensed on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

"Samsung Electronics has been blocked from selling its modem chips to other smartphone manufacturers due to a license deal it signed with Qualcomm," the commissioners wrote.

The report gives legal justification for the $853 million fine the SKTC placed on Qualcomm in December for "anti-competitive practices".

Qualcomm intends to appeal. "We strongly disagree with the KFTC's announced decision, which Qualcomm believes is inconsistent with the facts and the law, reflects a flawed process, and represents a violation of due process rights owed American companies" -that's under an applicable agreement between the US and South Korea.

Last modified on 27 March 2017
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