Chinese mobe-makers in pincer movement to corner Qualcomm China’s mobile phone industry has turned up the heat on Qualcomm after submitting a damning report to government regulators in an on-going antitrust investigation into the US chip giant. China’s Communications Industry Association, consulted 20 out of its 30 key member companies before submitting its findings to the National …
Qualcomm does make the chipsets in something around 50% of all smartphones sold globally. Bit harsh to call the R&D and production, not to mention the sales and support, which generates that much business "a necessary evil".
Disclaimer: I work for Qualcomm. Actually making stuff.
Qualcomm would simply not pay the fine, and stop having any business dealings with China. The result would be that the rest of the world would pay more for cell phones, as they would be manufactured in Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and perhaps even the United States.
Qualcomm isn't a patent troll; its patents are valid, and represent genuine inventions. If Chinese firms don't want to simply be manufacturers, they will need to invent their own products.
The world must send an unambiguous signal to China that antitrust law isn't a way to steal the intellectual property of other nations. And as the U.S., at least, is inclined to do just that, Qualcomm should probably move there.
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