Samsung sides with FTC in lawsuit against Qualcomm

The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm earlier this year over what it believes to be the chipmaker's anti-competitive behavior. Qualcomm feels that there are no solid grounds for the case and has thus requested the court to dismiss the agency's case. The FTC is now trying to establish before the court that there solid grounds for this case to proceed on.

Samsung has a complex relationship with Qualcomm. It is one of Qualcomm's largest customers as it uses the chipmaker's chips in its smartphones. Qualcomm is also Samsung's client as the latter manufactures its Snapdragon 835 flagship processor.

Nevertheless, that hasn't stopped Samsung from filing arguments in support of the FTC's case. Samsung says that Qualcomm prevents fair competition against it by relying on its patents that cover the fundamentals of modern phones. The company adds that its in-house chip division is unfairly held back because Qualcomm is unwilling to license its technology.

“Despite having requested a license from Qualcomm, Samsung cannot sell licensed Exynos chipsets to non-Samsung entities because Qualcomm has refused to license Samsung to make and sell licensed chipsets,” the company says in a filing.

Qualcomm has not commented on Samsung's filing. The Korean company isn't the only one that's backing the FTC. Even Intel has filed arguments in support of the FTC's case against Qualcomm.

Adnan Farooqui - Executive Editor

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First Samsung device: SGH-E900

Adnan Farooqui is a long-term writer at SamMobile. Based in Pakistan, his interests include technology, finance, Swiss watches and Formula 1. His tendency to write long posts betrays his inclination to being a man of few words.

Via Business patents Qualcomm