Qualcomm might have to pay a fine of $774 million to Taiwan Fair Trade Commission

Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission has slapped smartphone chipset and modem manufacturer Qualcomm with a fine of $774 million for allegedly taking advantage of its monopoly in the industry. The commission has claimed that Qualcomm charged higher licensing fees from its customers and the terms drafted for the business partnership with several of its clients highly benefit the chip maker.

Taiwan is the third nation after China and South Korea to fine the brand over issues related to licensing terms after China and South Korea. The processor manufacturer is also in a spat with American technology giant Apple over a similar patent dispute.

Qualcomm made it amply clear that it will not merely entertain Taiwan Fair Trade Commission's fine and will indeed find a middle ground in terms of the fine charged on it,"The fine bears no rational relationship to the amount of Qualcomm's revenues or activities in Taiwan, and Qualcomm will appeal the amount of the fine and the method used to calculate it."

The Commission, on the other hand, claims that Qualcomm is abusing its dominance in the CDMA and LTE chips industry and its patent holding for both of these technologies that account for a major turn over in the brand's business.

With Qualcomm facing the heat from almost all the countries serving as home ground for several major brands tough times in near future for the world's largest chipset manufacturer are inevitable. Qualcomm certainly needs a reform in its practices to sustain its business.

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