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Qualcomm Inc's request to suspend an order by the country's antitrust agency to take corrective action on the way it licenses patents was rejected by a South Korean court on Monday.
In December, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) fined Qualcomm 1.03 trillion won (about 912 million US dollars) for what it called unfair business practices in patent licensing and modem chip sales.
The regulator also ordered the US firm to negotiate in good faith with rival chipmakers on patent licensing, and renegotiate chip supply agreements with mobile phone makers if requested.
If the order is upheld, such measures would affect Qualcomm's dealings with major tech firms including Huawei, Apple, Intel, and Samsung.
Qualcomm subsequently filed two lawsuits with the Seoul High Court, one calling for the nullification of the regulator's decision and another seeking the suspension of the corrective order until a ruling on the first is made.
The court turned down the suspension request because it did not believe the regulator's order would pose a risk of "irreparable damage" to Qualcomm, a spokeswoman said.
The court has not yet made a ruling on the first lawsuit calling for the cancellation of the regulator's decision.
Qualcomm's China troubles
Qualcomm was fined 975 million US dollars by China's antitrust authority in 2015, the largest in China’s corporate history.
A Chinese introduction of Qualcomm's Snapdragon chip.
The company said in a statement it would not contest China's National Development and Reform Commission’s finding that it violated an antitrust law.
Genitop, a Shanghai-based company, sued Qualcomm for trademark infringement in 2014. The company's Chinese name is partially the same as Qualcomm's branch in China.
They both had trademarked "Gaotong" in Chinese phrases.
But the semiconductor company lost the case as it didn't use the trademark for too long, and committed perjury during the trial.
Genitop eventually paid a 10,000-yuan fine to the court.
(REUTERS)
