On March 29, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) confirmed it would not seek Supreme Court review in its lawsuit against Qualcomm, ending a years-long dispute between the agency and the company over Qualcomm’s licensing program. The FTC filed the lawsuit in 2017, alleging Qualcomm’s behavior in licensing its patents was anticompetitive. The agency, briefly, prevailed in 2019, when a district court judge issued an opinion and an injunction against Qualcomm, significantly hindering the company’s ability to license its patents. However, in 2020, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously reversed the district court, finding in Qualcomm’s favor and allowing the company’s licensing program to continue. The entire Ninth Circuit declined to hear an appeal – leaving the panel’s reversal in effect.
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