Qualcomm is fined $774 million in Taiwan for refusing to properly license its technology

The Taiwan Fair Trade Commission has fined Qualcomm $774 million for abusing the monopoly it happens to have in the handset market where its chips are widely used in the manufacture of smartphones. With a commanding share of the market in CDMA, WCDMA (3G) and LTE chipsets, the Fair Trade Commission accused the chip maker of holding back on licensing its technology. The Taiwan FTC also is ordering Qualcomm to submit a report twice a year on its negotiations with other firms.

Qualcomm is the middle of similar lawsuits involving Apple and the U.S. FTC. Apple claims that Qualcomm refused to pay it $1 billion in rebates that it is owed because it spoke with law enforcement agencies investigating Qualcomm. Apple also claims that Qualcomm refuses to license its standard essential patents at a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory manner. The U.S. FTC says that Qualcomm's deal to exclusively provide Apple with iPhone modems in return for lower royalty costs to Apple, is against the law in the U.S.

Qualcomm has already received an $854 million fine in South Korea, and a $975 million fine in China. When the dust settles on all of the ongoing legal action, the company could end up taking an even bigger hit to its wallet.

source: FTC (translated) via Engadget