Qualcomm’s rhetoric pierced

In response to recent litigation developments, including today’s decision in the International Trade Commission, Intel’s general counsel, Steve Rodgers, has written the following:

By Steven R. Rodgers

In July 2017, Qualcomm launched a worldwide campaign of patent litigation as part of its efforts to eliminate competition and preserve its unlawful “no license, no chips” regime, which has already been found to violate competition laws across the globe. Indeed, Qualcomm has already been fined $975 million in China, $850 million in Korea, $1.2 billion by the European Commission, and $773 million in Taiwan (although the case later settled for a reduced fine) for its anticompetitive practices. Qualcomm has also been found to be in violation of Japanese competition law, and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is pursuing claims in federal court against it for alleged violation of U.S. antitrust law.

Qualcomm has had a lot to say publicly about its litigation campaign – and about Intel. It has publicly disparaged Intel’s products – products created by the innovation and hard work of dedicated teams of scientists and engineers at Intel. It has asked a judge to order a customer not to purchase Intel’s modems, claiming, among other things, that Intel’s engineers could have made their inventions only by purloining ideas from Qualcomm. It has claimed that its patents form the very core of modern mobile communication technologies and networks, and extend even into future technologies.

It is easy to say things. But Intel’s track record is clear. Intel has been one of the world’s leading technology innovators for more than 50 years. We are proud of our engineers and employees who bring the world’s best technology solutions to market through hard work, sweat, risk-taking and great ideas. Every day, we push the boundaries of computing and communication technologies. And, the proof is in the pudding: Last year, the U.S. Patent Office awarded more patents to Intel than to Qualcomm.

For the most part, we have chosen, and will continue to choose, to respond to Qualcomm’s statements in court, not in public. This week, in one lawsuit, Qualcomm failed to win its case on 88 patent claims it said were infringed by products, including Intel’s modem. And, in another case, a federal judge found “considerable, compelling common proof” that Qualcomm has required companies “to accept a separate license to Qualcomm’s cellular [standard essential patents] in order to gain access to Qualcomm’s modem chips.” This is the “no license, no chips” scheme that has been found to be part of Qualcomm’s anticompetitive conduct challenged in so many countries.

As one of the world’s largest patent holders, Intel respects intellectual property. But we also respect truth, candor and fair competition. And we look forward to continuing to compete with Qualcomm.

Steven R. Rodgers is executive vice president and general counsel of Intel Corporation.