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Qualcomm Settles $773 Million Antitrust Case In Taiwan (bloomberg.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Qualcomm, the smartphone chipmaker fighting regulatory actions and lawsuits threatening its most profitable business, has reached a settlement with Taiwan's antitrust regulators that reverses most of a $773 million fine. As part of an agreement announced Friday by the Fair Trade Commission, the company will invest $700 million over the next five years and boost research activities in Taiwan, home to a clutch of important suppliers to global names such as Apple. In return, Qualcomm can stop paying fines and retains the right to charge manufacturers royalties on its technology. The commission said Friday it will keep NT$2.73 billion ($89 million) in fines that Qualcomm's already paid but waive the rest.
In an October decision, Taiwan's antitrust agency said Qualcomm had monopoly market status over key mobile phone standards and was violating local laws by not providing products to clients who didn't agree with its conditions. Besides the fine, the Fair Trade Commission told Qualcomm at the time to remove previously signed deals that forced competitors to provide price, customer names, shipment, model name and other sensitive information. Qualcomm appealed the decision. The company agreed to ensure fair negotiations with local licensees, and will support research and commercial projects in Taiwan, including collaborating on the development of fifth-generation wireless, Qualcomm said in a separate statement Friday.
In an October decision, Taiwan's antitrust agency said Qualcomm had monopoly market status over key mobile phone standards and was violating local laws by not providing products to clients who didn't agree with its conditions. Besides the fine, the Fair Trade Commission told Qualcomm at the time to remove previously signed deals that forced competitors to provide price, customer names, shipment, model name and other sensitive information. Qualcomm appealed the decision. The company agreed to ensure fair negotiations with local licensees, and will support research and commercial projects in Taiwan, including collaborating on the development of fifth-generation wireless, Qualcomm said in a separate statement Friday.
Russian, or home-grown?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
if you have a lot of money.
You can always buy your way through any system and laws.
Please forgive the purposefully stupid pun...to invite any in this community to provide a null hypothesis for the following: Asian people have provided both a sufficiently inexpensive and educated labor force to ensure quality assurances that enable IP holders to successfully project earnings.
Because that is how I'm interpreting Qualcomm's agreement to accept fines they have paid, and offer what remains in terms of "investment". Qualcomm sought greater control of information about who bought a finished product and at what price and Taiwan said, "No, thank you," because Taiwan's labor force is exactly that valuable-- Pay These Fines or Go Hang because Good Luck finding anyone else with as many and meaningful assurances?
Because if a null hypothesis is not sufficiently offered, I'm more confident in a take on western IP holders being in a bind: How to enjoy the profits of scale within parameters of their choosing while simultaneously claiming labor is a trivial component.
I read many articles about how "unfair" mainland China is in terms of reverse-engineering and "stealing" IP while its educated labor provides a means of production. The articles bend over backwards to avoid any conclusion of: Then Build Your Gadgets Somewhere Else!
An anecdote I've read but once (and never seen repeated) is Obama asking Jobs about possibly returning some of Apple's manufacturing back to the US, and Jobs' reply: Those jobs are never coming back." It made sense to me because I was reading Chris Gilmore's book Nobodies and the question of Henry Ford's (as problematic as it is to to acknowledge Nazi sympathizers in this age) first observations of mass production-- how scale can benefit all classes-- is mind-blowingly rich in potentials when internationally applied, but as susceptible to abuse.
What unregulated capitalist will not seek the poorest and claim any increase in wages is sufficient?
Would were! Should is! Could be! And live a hundred times three.
It's not like they said nobody else could use those wires on telephone poles. No, they invented the technology, patented it, it turned out to be the one everyone wanted, and they got rich.
I'm OK with this "we spent money on R&D, you didn't, fuck off" attitude. I'm not OK with the local telecom saying "who you gonna call? Ghostbusters was a movie, twit" and jacking up my fees while reducing my service.
Did I mention Qcom puts a ton of money into R&D every year, while your local monopoly puts a ton of money into politicians every year?