Apple sues chipmaker Qualcomm for abusing monopoly

San Francisco

BY mastering some tough computer chip technology and then pulling off an audacious business strategy based on selling its smartphone knowledge, Qualcomm has made billions of dollars and seized influence in the tech industry.

Some days that is a real drag.

On Friday, Apple, its longtime partner, sued Qualcomm over what it said was US$1 billion in withheld rebates. In the lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the Southern District of California, in San Diego, Apple said the money had been promised in conjunction with an agreement not to buy chips from other suppliers or to divulge Qualcomm's intellectual property licensing practices. The suit seeks the rebates, among other things.

Apple sued three days after the Federal Trade Commission accused Qualcomm of using anticompetitive practices to guarantee its high royalty payments for advanced wireless technology. The commission cited Qualcomm's deals with Taiwanese companies that manufacture Apple iPhones over semiconductors it sells for the iPhone.…