Qualcomm Seeks Dismissal of FTC's Baseband Processors Antitrust Complaint

Qualcomm formally asked the U.S. District Court in San Jose Monday to dismiss the FTC's complaint against the company, in which the agency alleges the smartphone chip firm had a monopoly in baseband processors used in cellphones and other devices. The FTC voted 2-1 to file the complaint in January, shortly before then-President Barack Obama left office (see 1701170065). Then-Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen dissented in that vote and since being named the FTC's acting chairman said the action was flawed (see 1701230043 and 1702230012). The FTC's complaint “does not plead facts supporting the basic elements of an antitrust claim and does not allege a plausible antitrust theory,” Qualcomm said in its motion (in Pacer). “Most strikingly, the Complaint does not contain any factual allegations of anticompetitive harm to Qualcomm’s rivals in the supply of modem chips. Moreover, the Complaint’s theories of harm to competition are foreclosed by governing law and are implausible on their face. Each of these fundamental flaws is independently sufficient to warrant dismissal.” District Judge Lucy Koh set a May 12 deadline for the FTC to respond to Qualcomm's motion. The agency didn't comment.