Qualcomm has launched an antitrust campaign against ARM at a global level. The two former partners are faced by the increasingly high level of competition in the semiconductor sector for the computer market. ARM is the main provider of Qualcomm, but this has not avoided that the company, in private meetings and through confidential communications with the regulatory entities of three regions, Point out that ARM is maintaining anticompetitive behavior. Specifically, according to Bloomberg, the United States Federal Trade Commission has been complained to the European Commission, and the South Korean Fair Trade Commission.
Among other things, Qualcomm points out that ARM is harming competition by restricting access to its technology after having operated as an open network for more than 20 years. They argue that ARM generated a very strong dependence on their technology with their open license model, which also resulted in a buoyant semiconductor sector.
But what Qualcomm has now claimed before the organisms in which it has complained is that this sector is threatened, since ARM restricts access to technology to boost its benefits in chips design.
From ARM they have shown their confidence that their version will be imposed, and have noted that they are still focused on «Improve innovation, promote competition and respect contractual rights and obligations»Have. They have also stressed that «Any allegation of anticompetitive behavior is nothing more than a desperate attempt from Qualcomm to subtract value from the advantages and increase the commercial dispute between the parties to their own benefit«.
Both companies are trying to take advantage of the great growth of the computing demand in everything, from desktop equipment to AI systems, as the smartphones chips sector, which had driven a good part of its growth in recent years, is experiencing a brake.
Qualcomm complaints are in line with the arguments they have made in a recent case against ARM in Delaware courts. In this case, he successfully argued that he did not need a new license to use ARM technology for a chips startup he had bought, Nuvia. In addition, they pointed out that after SoftBank purchased ARM, and the failure of its sale to Nvidia, Arm is trying for all. means, fair or not, give a push to your accounts and at the Price of your shares.
ARM has confirmed that he wants a repetition of the trial. At the end of January, the two parties said they plan to go to the mediation of the courts, which is necessary in Delaware before making a decision on whether or not the repetition of the trial is allowed. If an agreement is not reached, the conflict could take years to solve.
At the end of December, before the Delaware Court failed in its favor, Qualcomm issued a complaint about competition against ARM in Europe, accusing it to restrict access to its licenses, and retain key technology, since they wanted to compete more directly with Qualcomm, according to them. ARM has received the EU complaint and is preparing his answer.
Qualcomm also met at the beginning of the year with FTC officials in Washington, which he put up to the current of his concerns and to which he made several complaints. Among other things, he has accused Arm of retaining critical technology that he should offer under the terms of his license agreement.
Under the leadership of His CEO, Rene Haas, ARM has gone from offering base technology To chips manufacturers to the development of more complete designswhich makes him compete more directly with his traditional client base, of which Qalcomm is part.
