Disqus
“There has been no illegal activity” is exactly what you would expect Qualcomm Korea head Cha Young-koo to say after the company was fined $208 million, the largest the Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has ever issued. South Korea, which is one of the few markets in the world to run almost exclusively on CDMA technology, is reporting that companies who were building mobile phones with modems from Qualcomm’s competitors, such as Texas Instruments, were being charged a higher royalty rate than those who used Qualcomm’s products. Qualcomm is refuting these charges, saying that there are some “serious factual and legal errors” in the case that was brought against them. Knowing how much shit Qualcomm has got in the past for their unfair use of IPR to leverage uncompetitive pricing, I, along with the rest of the wireless industry, should not be surprised to see yet another fine being slapped on them.
About The Author
Stefan Constantinescu
Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.
