SEOUL-Texas Instruments Inc. and Broadcom Corp. filed a complaint in South Korea alleging that Qualcomm Inc. is engaged in unfair business practices, according to news reports. Neither company offered information about the complaint on their Web sites. Qualcomm did not offer a response.
The complaint, lodged with South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission, apparently argues that Qualcomm uses its intellectual property rights in CDMA technology and its dominant market position to craft royalty deals with handset vendors that curb competition.
It is not clear whether the complaint also covers W-CDMA technology. Broadcom and Qualcomm have filed lawsuits against each other in the United States over what each claims is patent infringement in efforts relating to W-CDMA. And Broadcom, TI and other parties including Nokia Corp. have filed a complaint before the European Commission alleging that Qualcomm engages in unfair competition relating to W-CDMA sales in Europe.
Qualcomm’s shares fell following the news to around $38.37 per share.
Qualcomm sells its chips to leading South Korean mobile-phone manufacturers Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., LG Electronics Co. Ltd. and Pantech Curitel, among others. CDMA is the dominant air interface in South Korea.
The complaint from TI and Broadcom follows on the heels of another grievance against Qualcomm filed in South Korea this year. Nextreaming Corp. and THINmultimedia Inc. filed the complaint against Qualcomm, citing similar issues.
