Koh-MG: Qualcomm guilty of abusing chip patent monopoly, biz promises to appeal

Not sure about the double-whammy: it owns the IP and so can charge for this however it wants. The real issue is how the approach has stifled competition.

Mind you, I seem to recall that judge Koh's pro-competition decisions have been struck down in previous appeals… And let's not forget how close Qualcomm is to the US DoD.

Mark 85: Were you not paying attention to the lawsuits between Qualcomm and Apple? That was one of Apple's biggest issues with Qualcomm.

Charlie Clark: Yes they "own the IP" but they CANNOT charge for it however they want. At least not for their patents covered under FRAND licensing, which would be any patent applicable to cellular standards like LTE. That's an agreement every participant in the standards process is required to sign as a condition of participation (no one forces them to participate, but if they don't the others will do their damnedest to design the standards around the patents held by non-participants)

A growing number of standards organizations are explicitly forbidding 'double dipping' and licensing based on the price of a device in the FRAND agreement participants sign. But of course that does nothing to restrict existing IP, and those questions are settled in court (after years of fighting, and probably not consistently in different jurisdictions)

That's pretty much boilerplate after any company loses a big decision. This will go on appeal, but it is an open question whether Trump's FTC will support the appeal given that his DOJ wrote a memo in favor of Qualcomm. His desire to help US companies "win the 5G war" might cause an under the table settlement that amounts to a slap on the wrist, similar to what Microsoft had after a new administration took charge of the process.

If the trade war goes on very long, Qualcomm might find themselves collateral damage and designed out of most Android phones not destined for the US market.