Antitrust regulators in South Korea fined the American manufacturer of chipsets Qualcomm a record amount of 853 million dollars. Qualcomm was accused of violating antitrust laws, according to Bloomberg.
The amount of the fine for Qualcomm – the largest in the history of South Korea.
According to the Korean regulator, Qualcomm is illegally using a dominant market position, interfering with healthy competition. In particular, the company allegedly took too high a licensing fee for the use of patent-protected technologies, which are fundamental for the industry (Standard Essential Patents SEP).
According to the investigation, Qualcomm has licensed its essential patents only for manufacturers of mobile phones and incorrectly agreed on the terms of licensing.
Representatives from Qualcomm called the decision “unprecedented and unwarranted” and said it will challenge it in the Supreme court of South Korea.
Qualcomm was founded in 1985. 2011 was the largest acquisition in Qualcomm when the company for 3.1 billion dollars absorbed Atheros Communications.
