FTC drops Qualcomm antitrust lawsuit, ends four-year saga

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Monday said it will abandon its long-running antitrust lawsuit against Qualcomm and has no plans to seek a Supreme Court review of a federal appeals court ruling in favor of the chipmaker.

The decision not to move forward with the case caps off a four-year saga in which the federal government sought to prove that Qualcomm abused its dominant position in the chipmaking industry to extract exorbitant licensing fees from cellphone manufacturers.As reported by Bloomberg, FTC Acting Chairwoman Rebecca Kelly Slaughter in a statement said she agreed with an initial trial court ruling that found Qualcomm unlawfully suppressed competition, but claims the FTC faces "significant headwinds" to overturn a subsequent appeal.

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