After having been condemned by the antitrust in China to pay close to $ 1 billion in 2015, Qualcomm has received a new record fine Wednesday. South Korea has condemned the american giant of microprocessors for smartphones to spend nearly 853 million for violation of antitrust laws. In the line of sight of the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) : the practices of the society of San Diego in the marketing of its patent.
It denounces the fact that Qualcomm is limiting access to certain essential patents to manufacturers of chips competitors, like the american Intel or even the south-Korean Samsung Electronics. In addition, Qualcomm is accused of having used its dominant position on the market as a lever in its negotiations with the manufacturers of smartphones, in their imposing of the rights exorbitant on its patents and refusing to sell them chips, if they do not accept these terms and conditions.
The company challenged the decision in court
Qualcomm, who rejects the accusations, said in a statement that it would challenge the decision in court. In the meantime, the FTC has ordered the u.s. giant to review its business practices, in negotiating patent licenses with the manufacturers of the chips competitors without the requirement unfair.
The regulator has also asked Qualcomm to renegotiate its contracts with manufacturers of smartphones if they asked him for it. Samsung Electronics and LG, the major players in mobile in South Korea, will come out winners. Alone, the first of which represents more than 10 % of global sales of the king of chips for mobile devices.
Qualcomm’s business model, which has the patent portfolio of the most exploited in the industry with more than 330 licensed, could be undermined. The firm has earned more than $ 23 billion in revenue this year. The operating licenses for its patents accounted for 33 % of its revenue, or $ 7.6 billion.
In addition, South Korea is a vital market for Qualcomm. The country represents 17 % of its turnover, which makes it the second largest market for us after China (57 %) and Taiwan (12 %).
The company San Diego has in trouble with several regulators. Qualcomm list in its annual report 2016 seven ongoing investigations in the world : one in Japan, two in Korea, two in the european Union, one in Taiwan and one in the United States.
Anaëlle Grondin, Les Echos
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