Qualcomm has agreed to pay $75 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging anticompetitive sales and licensing practices.
The settlement resolves claims that Qualcomm leveraged its dominance in the mobile chip market to overcharge smartphone manufacturers and consumers.
The lawsuit, filed in 2017, accused Qualcomm of engaging in a “no license, no chips” policy, requiring phone makers to purchase licenses for its patented technologies to obtain its chips. According to the plaintiffs, this practice artificially inflated the cost of Qualcomm’s chips and limited competition in the market.
Under the settlement terms, Qualcomm will pay $75 million to a class of consumers who purchased Qualcomm-based smartphones between 2011 and 2019. The company also agreed to modify its licensing practices to address the concerns raised in the lawsuit.
