Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Thursday 23 May 2019
Judge rules Qualcomm violated antitrust law in chip market

By TALI ARBEL and MICHAEL a Singapore company,
LIEDTKE Broadcom, from buying
AP Technology Writers Qualcomm over concerns
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal about national security
judge has ruled that Qual- and who would dominate
comm unlawfully squeezed 5G technology.
out cellphone chip rivals Trade group Computer &
and charged excessive Communications Industry
royalties to manufacturers Association said Tuesday's
such as Apple in a decision ruling was a win for wire-
that undercuts a key part less technology, as it would
of its business. mean more competition.
The decision vindicates the Qualcomm has justified its
U.S. Federal Trade Commis- "no license, no chips" sys-
sion two years after it filed tem as a repayment sys-
its antitrust lawsuit against tem for the $40 billion it
the San Diego chipmaker. has spent through several
It's a potentially costly set- decades working on wire-
back for Qualcomm, as the less technology essential to
decision could slash its abil- smartphones.
ity to extract big royalties Last month Apple and
from phone makers. Qualcomm settled a bitter
Qualcomm said Wednes- In this Nov. 6, 2018 file photo, attendees look at the latest technology from Qualcomm at the financial dispute centered
day that it would appeal, China International Import Expo in Shanghai. on some of the technol-
suggesting the case could Associated Press ogy that enables iPhones
still take a few years to re- to connect to the internet.
solve. premium models. suffered a big hit to its prof- see if this gets revisited." The deal requires Apple to
"We strongly disagree with U.S. District Judge Lucy itability, that could mean Qualcomm's rivals are pay Qualcomm an undis-
the judge's conclusions, her Koh in San Jose, California, less spending on research mostly Asian companies, closed amount. It also in-
interpretation of the facts ruled Tuesday that Qual- and development — a including Huawei, Zine cludes a six-year licensing
and her application of the comm Inc. must renego- knock to an American tech said. The Trump administra- agreement that likely in-
law," Qualcomm General tiate licensing deals with icon as the U.S. embarks on tion has set bruising sanc- volves recurring payments
Counsel Don Rosenberg customers. It must license its a politically sensitive race tions against Huawei and to the mobile chipmaker.
said in a statement. patents to rival chipmakers with China to update to pushed European allies not Apple had already lost an
The outcome seems likely at fair prices and can't sign 5G, a new wireless technol- to use the Chinese com- earlier battle with Qual-
to reduce the licensing fees exclusive agreements that ogy. pany's technology due to comm in March when a
paid to Qualcomm, but it's block competitors from "The Trump administration national-security concerns federal court jury in San
unclear if device makers also selling chips to smart- views Qualcomm as almost of China spying. The U.S. Diego decided the iPhone
will pass on any of their sav- phone makers like Apple. the crown jewel for the U.S. government is also in a spi- maker owed Qualcomm
ings and lower their prices. Qualcomm must submit to in terms of U.S. technology raling trade war with China. $31 million for infringing on
The royalties represent a FTC monitoring for seven development. Similar to the The Trump administration's three of its patents.
relatively small portion of years. way China views Huawei," attitude to Qualcomm can Qualcomm shares dropped
smartphone prices that The case has geopolitical said Angelo Zine, CFRA an- be seen in a case from 12% to $68.18 in afternoon
now top $1,000 for some ramifications. If Qualcomm alyst. "It will be interesting to last year, when it blocked trading.q

Anti-groping smartphone app highly popular in Japan

By MARI YAMAGUCHI TOKYO (AP) — A smart- phone app developed by packed rush-hour trains. molesters was only added
a few months ago. Since
then, the app has report-
edly been downloaded
hundreds of thousands of
times — unusual for a gov-
ernment-developed mo-
bile application.
Women in crowded trains
and other public places in
Japan often face sexual
harassment, but are typi-
cally too afraid to call out
for help due to a sense of
embarrassment.
With the app, victims can
Commuters wait to get on a train at a station Wednesday, May press a "repel groper" icon
22, 2019, in Tokyo.
Associated Press to produce a written mes-
sage saying "There is a
groper here. Please help."
Japanese police is being The "Digi Police" app was With another press, the
widely downloaded by originally issued by Tokyo message turns red and
women trying to protect police three years ago, a voice repeatedly says,
themselves from gropers on but a function to scare off "Please stop!"q