ALG supports Qualcomm decision to appeal
May 22, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement in response to the Federal Trade Commission ruling against Qualcomm:
“It is astonishing that another Obama appointed federal judge would rule against the intellectual property rights of Qualcomm in a dispute that was already settled between Apple and Qualcomm. Once again, we see a lawsuit launched by the Obama Administration (by the Federal Trade Commission) continuing forward and threatening to wreak havoc against basic private property rights with the primary beneficiary being China’s Huawei.
“There is a research and development battle over the future of the 5G chips that will be the brains behind the Internet of Things. Qualcomm, a mid-sized San Diego, California based company, is the company which developed both the 3G and 4G chip brain which have transformed hand-held phones into mobile communications devices. Qualcomm’s research is paid for by the licensing revenues they receive from phone manufacturers like Apple, for the technological innovations that make the iPhone do the amazing things it does. The FTC suit sought to end Qualcomm’s licensing stream, denying the company their earned revenue that is necessary to fund the development of the next generation chip.
“The truth is that Qualcomm’s competitor, China’s Huawei was called as a lead witness by the FTC in the case. Huawei has been found to have received funding from the Chinese intelligence services, and they cannot be allowed to win the race in creating the brains behind the next generation Internet communications due to obvious security concerns. And at a time when the U.S. government is aggressively seeking to cut this Chinese company out of the U.S. tech arena, a federal judge in the Bay Area of California decides to legally hamstring Qualcomm’s revenue stream to win the race on the critical 5G chip.
“Americans for Limited Government supports Qualcomm’s decision to appeal this decision and urges the Federal Trade Commission to agree to a reasonable settlement similar to the one already reached between Apple and Qualcomm.”
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