Commitments and Contingencies |
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| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies |
Commitments and Contingencies
Legal and Regulatory Proceedings.
ParkerVision, Inc. v. QUALCOMM Incorporated: On May 1, 2014, ParkerVision filed a complaint against us in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida alleging that certain of our products infringe certain ParkerVision patents. On August 21, 2014, ParkerVision amended the complaint, captioned ParkerVision, Inc. v. QUALCOMM Incorporated, Qualcomm Atheros, Inc., HTC Corporation, HTC America, Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., LTD., Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC, broadening the allegations. ParkerVision alleged that we infringe 11 ParkerVision patents and seeks damages and injunctive and other relief. On December 3, 2015, ParkerVision dismissed six patents from the lawsuit and granted us and all other defendants a covenant not to assert those patents against any existing products. On February 2, 2016, after agreement among the parties, the District Court stayed the remainder of the case pending the resolution of the complaint filed by ParkerVision against us and other parties with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) described below. Subsequently, ParkerVision announced that it had reached a settlement with Samsung which dismissed the Samsung entities from the District Court case. We had previously filed Inter Partes Review petitions with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to invalidate all asserted claims of several of the remaining patents. On March 7, 2017, the USPTO decided in our favor with respect to all asserted claims of one such patent. After the ITC action described below was closed, and upon agreement among the parties, on May 24, 2017, the District Court further stayed the District Court case pending ParkerVision’s appeal of the USPTO’s invalidation decisions. A hearing on ParkerVision’s appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was held on August 7, 2018. On September 13, 2018, the Court of Appeals reaffirmed the USPTO’s decisions. The case has been further stayed by motion of the parties while ParkerVision decides whether to bring a further appeal.
On December 14, 2015, ParkerVision filed another complaint against us in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida alleging patent infringement. Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., LTD., Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc., LG Electronics, Inc., LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc. and LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A., Inc. were also named defendants. The complaint asserts that certain of our products infringe four additional ParkerVision patents and seeks damages and other relief. On December 15, 2015, ParkerVision filed a complaint with the ITC pursuant to Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 against the same parties asserting the same four patents. The complaint seeks an exclusion order barring the importation of products that use either of two of our transceivers or one Samsung transceiver and a cease and desist order preventing us and the other defendants from carrying out commercial activities within the United States related to such products. On January 13, 2016, we served our answer to the District Court complaint. On January 15, 2016, the ITC instituted an investigation. On February 12, 2016, the District Court case was stayed pending completion of the ITC investigation. Subsequently, ParkerVision announced that it had reached a settlement with Samsung which dismissed the Samsung entities from the ITC investigation and related District Court case. On February 2, 2017, the ITC granted ParkerVision’s motion to drop all but one patent and one accused product from the ITC investigation. On March 12, 2017, one day before the ITC hearing was scheduled to begin, ParkerVision moved to withdraw its ITC complaint in its entirety. We and the other defendants did not oppose the withdrawal of the complaint. On April 28, 2017, the ITC formally closed the investigation. On May 4, 2017, ParkerVision filed a motion to reopen the related District Court Case, and on May 26, 2017, the District Court granted the motion. On March 16, 2018, the parties agreed to dismiss three of ParkerVision’s patents from the case without prejudice, leaving only one patent at issue. A claim construction hearing was held on August 31, 2018. The District Court has not issued on order on that hearing. No trial date has been set.
Apple Inc. (Apple) v. QUALCOMM Incorporated: On January 20, 2017, Apple filed a complaint against us in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California seeking declarations with respect to several of our patents and alleging that we breached certain agreements and violated federal antitrust and California state unfair competition laws. In its initial complaint, Apple sought declaratory judgments of non-infringement by Apple of nine of our patents, or in the alternative, a declaration of royalties Apple must pay for the patents. Apple further sought a declaration that our sale of baseband processor chipsets exhausts our patent rights for patents embodied in those chipsets. Separately, Apple sought to enjoin us from seeking excessive royalties from Apple and to disgorge royalties paid by Apple’s contract manufacturers that the court finds were not fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND). Apple also claimed that our refusal to make certain payments to Apple under a Business Cooperation and Patent Agreement (Cooperation Agreement) constituted a breach of contract in violation of California law and sought damages in the amount of the unpaid payments, alleged to be approximately $1 billion. In addition, Apple claimed that we have refused to deal with competitors in contravention of our agreements with applicable standard setting organizations, have used our market position to impose contractual obligations on Apple that prevented Apple from challenging our licensing practices, have tied the purchase of our CDMA-enabled and “premium” LTE-enabled chipsets to licensing certain of our patents and have required Apple to purchase baseband processor chipsets exclusively from us as a condition of our payment to Apple of certain rebates, in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act and the California Unfair Competition Law. Apple sought injunctive relief with respect to these claims and a judgment awarding its expenses, costs and attorneys’ fees.
On April 10, 2017, we filed our Answer and Counterclaims (amended on May 24, 2017) in response to Apple’s complaint denying Apple’s claims and asserting claims against Apple. The counterclaims against Apple include tortious interference with our long-standing Subscriber Unit License Agreements (SULAs) with third-party contract manufacturers of Apple devices, causing those contract manufacturers to withhold certain royalty payments owed to us and violate their audit obligations; breach of contract and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing relating to the Cooperation Agreement; unjust enrichment and declaratory relief relating to the Cooperation Agreement; breach of contract based on Apple’s failure to pay amounts owed to us under a Statement of Work relating to a high-speed feature of our baseband processor chipsets; breach of the parties’ software agreement; and violation of California Unfair Competition Law based on Apple’s threatening us to prevent us from promoting the superior performance of our own baseband processor chipsets. We also seek declaratory judgments that we have satisfied our FRAND commitments with respect to Apple, and that our SULAs with the contract manufacturers do not violate either competition law or our FRAND commitments. On June 19, 2017, Apple filed a Partial Motion to Dismiss our counterclaim for violation of the California Unfair Competition Law. The court granted that motion on November 8, 2017. On June 20, 2017, Apple filed an Answer and Affirmative Defenses to the rest of our counterclaims, and also filed an Amended Complaint reiterating all of the original claims and adding claims for declaratory judgments of invalidity of the nine patents that are subject to declaratory judgment claims in the original complaint, adding new declaratory judgment claims for non-infringement, invalidity and a declaration of royalties for nine more patents. Apple also added claims for declaratory judgments that certain of our agreements are unenforceable. On July 21, 2017, we filed an Answer to Apple’s Amended Complaint as well as a motion to dismiss the new declaratory judgment claims for non-infringement, invalidity and a declaration of royalties for the nine additional patents. The court granted our motion on November 8, 2017.
On May 17, 2017, we filed a complaint (captioned QUALCOMM Incorporated v. Compal Electronics, Inc. et al.) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California against certain of Apple’s contract manufacturers, Compal Electronics, Inc. (Compal), FIH Mobile, Ltd., Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (together with FIH Mobile, Ltd., Foxconn), Pegatron Corporation (Pegatron) and Wistron Corporation (Wistron), asserting claims for injunctive relief, specific performance, declaratory relief and damages stemming from the defendants’ breach of contracts by ceasing the payment of royalties for iPhones and other devices which they manufacture for Apple. On July 17, 2017, Compal, Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron each filed third-party complaints for contractual indemnity against Apple seeking to join Apple as a party to the action. On July 18, 2017, Apple filed an answer to these third-party complaints acknowledging its indemnity agreements and consenting to be joined. On July 18, 2017, the defendants filed an Answer and Counterclaims to the complaint, asserting defenses and counterclaims similar to allegations previously made by Apple in the Apple Inc. v. QUALCOMM Incorporated case discussed above. In addition, the defendants asserted certain new claims, including claims under Section 1 of the Sherman Act and California’s Cartwright Act. The defendants seek damages, declaratory relief, injunctive relief, restitution of certain royalties and other relief. On July 18, 2017, Apple filed a motion to consolidate this action with the Apple Inc. v. QUALCOMM Incorporated case. On September 13, 2017, the court granted Apple’s consolidation motion. Fact discovery is closed in these cases.
On August 31, 2018, Apple filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings that the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over our counterclaim that our license offers to Apple have not violated our obligation to license standard-essential patents on FRAND terms. The same day, Apple also filed motions for partial summary judgment on the following issues: that part of our claim for Apple’s alleged tortious interference with its contract manufacturers’ agreements is barred by the statute of limitations; that our claim for damages under the Cooperation Agreement is unfounded; and that certain of our patent rights are exhausted by the sale of our baseband processor chipsets. The foregoing motions are scheduled for hearing on November 9, 2018.
On September 14, 2018, we filed a motion to dismiss Apple’s declaratory judgment claims relating to the nine specific patents identified in its original complaint on the basis that we granted Apple and its contract manufacturers a covenant-not-to-sue on those patents. If granted, this motion would dispose of a total of 56 claims pled by Apple and its contract manufacturers, including non-infringement, validity, damages and patent exhaustion for each of the nine patents (which would render Apple’s motion for partial summary judgment on the issue as moot). The hearing on our motion to dismiss was held on October 26, 2018. A final pretrial conference is scheduled for November 30, 2018. The trials have not been scheduled.
On January 23, 2017, an Apple subsidiary in China filed two complaints against us in the Beijing Intellectual Property Court. On March 31, 2017, the court granted an application by Apple Inc. to join the actions as a plaintiff, and Apple amended the complaints. One of the complaints alleges a violation of China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (AML complaint); the other complaint requests a determination of the terms of a patent license between us and Apple (FRAND complaint). The AML complaint alleges that (i) we have abused our dominant position in communication standard-essential patents licensing markets and certain global baseband processor chipset markets by charging and offering royalty terms that were excessively high; (ii) we refused to license certain implementers of standardized technologies, including Apple and baseband processor chipset manufacturers; (iii) we forced Apple to use only our products and services; and (iv) we bundled licenses to standard-essential patents with licenses to non-standard-essential patents and imposed other unreasonable or discriminatory trading terms on Apple in violation of the AML. The AML complaint seeks a decree that we cease the alleged abuse of dominance, as well as damages in the amount of 1 billion Chinese renminbi (approximately $145 million based on the exchange rate on September 30, 2018). The FRAND complaint makes allegations similar to the AML complaint and further alleges that we refused to offer licensing terms for our cellular standard-essential patents consistent with our FRAND licensing commitments and failed to provide to Apple certain information about our patents. The FRAND complaint seeks (i) a declaration that the license terms offered to Apple by us for our mobile communication standard-essential patents are not compliant with FRAND; (ii) an order that we cease our actions that allegedly violate our FRAND obligations, including pricing on unfair, unreasonable and excessive terms, refusing to deal, imposing unreasonable trade conditions and failing to provide information on our patents; and (iii) a determination of FRAND-compliant license terms for our Chinese standard-essential patents. Apple also seeks its expenses in each of the cases.
On August 3, 2017, we received three additional complaints filed by an Apple subsidiary and Apple Inc. against us in the Beijing Intellectual Property Court. The complaints seek declaratory judgments of non-infringement of three of our patents. We filed jurisdictional and other objections to the complaints, which the court denied on May 31, 2018. On July 5, 2018, we appealed the denial of our objections to the Beijing High People’s Court.
On November 30, 2017, Apple and certain of its Chinese subsidiaries filed three patent infringement complaints against us in the Beijing Intellectual Property Court. Apple seeks damages and costs. We have filed jurisdictional objections to the complaints.
On February 16, 2017, Apple and one of its Japanese subsidiaries filed four complaints against us in the Tokyo District Court. In three of the complaints, Apple seeks declaratory judgment of non-infringement by Apple of three of our patents. Apple further seeks a declaration that our patent rights with respect to those three patents are exhausted by our SULAs with the contract manufacturers of Apple’s devices as well as our sale of baseband processor chipsets. Apple also seeks an award of fees. On January 30, 2018, April 27, 2018 and July 13, 2018, the court dismissed each of Apple’s three declaratory judgment complaints, finding that Apple lacked standing based on the facts it alleged in those complaints. The court has yet to rule on whether Apple has standing in the remaining complaint. On May 15, 2017, we learned of the fourth complaint. In that complaint, Apple and one of its Japanese subsidiaries seek damages of 100 million Japanese yen (approximately $1 million based on the exchange rate on September 30, 2018) from us, based on allegations that we violated the Japanese Antimonopoly Act and the Japanese Civil Code. In particular, the fourth complaint alleges that (i) we hold a monopoly position in the market for baseband processor chipsets that implement certain cellular standards; (ii) we collect double royalties through our license agreements and the sale of baseband processor chipsets; (iii) we refused to grant Apple a license on FRAND terms and forced Apple to execute a rebate agreement under unreasonable conditions; (iv) we refused to grant Apple a direct license; and (v) we demanded a license fee based on the market value of the total device. We have filed jurisdictional and other objections to this complaint.
On March 2, 2017, we learned that Apple and certain of its European subsidiaries issued a Claim Form against us in the UK High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, Patents Court on January 23, 2017. Apple subsequently filed an Amended Claim Form and Particulars of Claim. Both the Amended Claim Form and the Particulars of Claim allege several European competition law claims, including our refusal to license competing chipmakers, failure to offer Apple a direct license to our standard-essential patents on FRAND terms, demanding excessive royalties for our standard-essential patents, and demanding excessive license fees for the use of our standard-essential patents in connection with baseband processor chipsets purchased from us. Apple also seeks declarations that we are obliged to offer a direct patent license to Apple in respect of standard-essential patents actually practiced on FRAND terms and that using our baseband processor chipsets does not infringe any of our patents because we exhausted our patent rights. Finally, Apple seeks declarations that five of our European (UK) patents are invalid and not essential, and an order that each of those patents be revoked.
On April 18, 2017, Apple and one of its Taiwanese subsidiaries filed a complaint against us in the Taiwan Intellectual Property Court alleging that we have abused a dominant market position in licensing wireless standard-essential patents and selling baseband processor chipsets, including improper pricing, refusal to deal, exclusive dealing, tying, imposing unreasonable trade terms and discriminatory treatment. The complaint seeks rulings that we not use the sales price of the terminal device as the royalty base for standard-essential patents; not leverage our cellular standard-essential patents to obtain licenses of our non-standard-essential patents or demand cross-licenses without proper compensation; not refuse, reduce, delay or take any other action to limit the supply of our baseband processor chipsets to non-licensees; that we must license our standard-essential patents on FRAND terms; and that we shall not, based on standard-essential patents, seek injunctions. The complaint also seeks damages of 10 million Taiwan dollars (less than $1 million based on the exchange rate on September 30, 2018), among other relief.
We believe Apple’s and its contract manufacturers’ claims in the above matters are without merit.
QUALCOMM Incorporated v. Apple Inc.: On July 6, 2017, we filed a complaint against Apple in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California asserting claims for damages and injunctive relief for infringement of six of our patents directed to a variety of features found in iPhone models. On July 7, 2017, we filed a complaint against Apple in the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) requesting that the ITC institute an investigation pursuant to Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 based on Apple’s infringement of the same six patents. We are seeking a limited exclusion order and cease and desist order against importation of iPhone models that do not contain a Qualcomm brand baseband processor chipset. The patents have not been declared as essential to any standards organization and are not subject to commitments to license on FRAND terms. Apple filed an Answer and Counterclaims in the District Court case on September 26, 2017. On November 29, 2017, Apple filed a First Amended Answer and Counterclaims asserting that our Snapdragon processors infringe eight Apple patents. On August 8, 2017, the ITC issued a notice of institution of an investigation. On August 25, 2017, we withdrew allegations as to one patent in both the ITC investigation and the district court case. On April 25, 2018, we withdrew allegations as to two additional patents in the ITC investigation, but not the District Court case, in order to satisfy certain briefing limitations and to narrow the issues for hearing. The ITC investigation evidentiary hearing by the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) was held June 18-26, 2018. The ALJ’s Initial Determination on the merits was issued on September 28, 2018. The ALJ found that we had established a violation of Section 337 by Apple due to the infringement of one of the three asserted patents. However, the ALJ recommended against an exclusion order on the grounds of public interest. On October 15, 2018, the parties each filed petitions for review of portions of the ALJ’s decision by the full ITC. The ITC is expected to announce the scope of its review by November 29, 2018. The target date for final determination by the ITC is set for January 28, 2019. On March 2, 2018, the District Court granted our motion to sever, for separate trial, Apple’s counterclaims for patent infringement against us. Trial is scheduled to begin on March 4, 2019. With respect to Apple’s patent claims against us, fact discovery is scheduled to close on December 3, 2018, and trial is scheduled to begin on July 15, 2019. All of the asserted patents have been challenged in Inter Partes Review (IPR) petitions filed by Apple, and/or in some cases by Intel, in the USPTO. No decisions have yet been issued by the USPTO.
On November 1, 2017, we filed a complaint against Apple in San Diego Superior Court for breach of the Master Software Agreement between the companies. The complaint recounts instances when Apple failed to protect our software as required by the agreement and failed to provide sufficient information to which we are entitled under the agreement in order to understand whether other breaches have occurred. The complaint seeks specific performance of Apple’s obligations to cooperate with an audit of its handling of our software, damages and injunctive relief. Apple filed its answer to the complaint on December 29, 2017. On September 24, 2018, we filed a motion seeking to amend our complaint to add causes of action for additional contract breaches and misappropriation of trade secrets. On October 26, 2018, the court granted our motion. We filed an amended complaint on October 31, 2018. No trial date is currently set.
On November 29, 2017, we filed three additional complaints against Apple in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California alleging infringement of a total of 16 of our patents. The patents have not been declared as essential to any standards organization and are not subject to commitments to license on FRAND terms. The complaints seek damages and injunctive relief. On January 22, 2018, Apple filed answers and counterclaims in each of these cases seeking declaratory judgments that the asserted patents are invalid and/or not infringed. Case management conferences were held on February 7, 2018 and March 1, 2018. For the case relating to the November 30, 2017 ITC investigation described below, fact discovery is scheduled to close on March 13, 2019, and trial is scheduled to begin on October 21, 2019. On June 18, 2018, Apple filed a petition with the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) challenging the validity of one patent asserted in the November 30, 2017 ITC investigation and the corresponding District Court case. On June 29, 2018, Apple filed petitions with the USPTO PTAB challenging the validity of another patent asserted in the November 30, 2017 ITC investigation and the corresponding District Court case. For the cases not related to the ITC investigation, all of the asserted patents have been challenged in IPR proceedings filed by Apple in the USPTO. No decisions have yet been issued by the USPTO. As a result of the IPR proceedings, on August 29, 2018, the court stayed those two cases pending the outcome of the IPR proceedings.
On November 30, 2017, we filed a complaint in the ITC accusing certain Apple products of infringing five of our patents. The patents have not been declared as essential to any standards organization and are not subject to commitments to license on FRAND terms. We seek a limited exclusion order and cease and desist order against importation of iPhone models that do not contain a Qualcomm brand baseband processor chipset. On January 2, 2018, the ITC instituted an investigation. The evidentiary hearing by the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) took place from September 17-24, 2018 and included three of our patents. The ALJ’s Initial Determination on the merits is due on January 22, 2019, and the target date for final determination by the ITC is set for May 22, 2019.
On July 17, 2017, we filed complaints against Apple and certain of its subsidiaries in the Federal Republic of Germany, asserting infringement of one of our patents in the Mannheim District Court and infringement of another patent in the Munich District Court. On October 2, 2017, we filed claim extensions in these actions against Apple and certain of its subsidiaries, asserting infringement of two additional patents in the Mannheim District Court and infringement of five additional patents in the Munich District Court. On May 28, 2018, we filed additional claim extensions in these actions against Apple and certain of its subsidiaries, asserting infringement of three additional patents in the Mannheim District Court and infringement of one additional patent in the Munich District Court. The complaints seek remedies including, among other relief, declaratory relief confirming liability on the merits for damages and injunctive relief. The patents have not been declared as essential to any standards organization and are not subject to commitments to license on FRAND terms. On October 11, 2018, the Munich District Court issued a judgment declaring one of the patents asserted on October 2, 2017 as not infringed. All other patents remain pending. Hearings are scheduled for various dates through September 2019.
On September 29, 2017, we filed three complaints against Apple and certain of its subsidiaries in the Beijing (China) Intellectual Property Court, asserting infringement of three of our patents. The complaints seek remedies including injunctive relief and costs. The patents have not been declared as essential to any standards organization and are not subject to commitments to license on FRAND terms. On May 10, 2018 and June 21, 2018, Apple filed invalidation requests with the Chinese Patent Review Board (PRB) for the three asserted patents. The PRB has not ruled on the invalidation requests.
On November 13, 2017, we filed three complaints against certain of Apple’s subsidiaries in the Beijing (China) High People’s Court, asserting infringement of three of our patents. The complaints seek remedies including injunctive relief, damages and costs. The patents have not been declared as essential to any standards organization and are not subject to commitments to license on FRAND terms. On December 19, 2017, Apple’s subsidiaries filed invalidation requests with the PRB for the three asserted patents. PRB hearings regarding the validity of the patents were held in April and May 2018. The PRB issued rulings upholding the validity of all three patents. On May 22, 2018, Apple’s subsidiaries filed a second invalidation request with the PRB for one of the three asserted patents. The PRB held a hearing regarding this request on October 19, 2018.
On November 15, 2017, we filed three complaints against certain of Apple’s subsidiaries in the Fuzhou (China) Intermediate People’s Court, asserting infringement of three of our patents. The complaints seek remedies including injunctive relief and costs. The patents have not been declared as essential to any standards organization and are not subject to commitments to license on FRAND terms. Infringement hearings were held in August and September 2018. Subsequent hearings are scheduled for October 29-30, 2018. Apple’s subsidiaries filed invalidation requests with the PRB on December 8, 2017 for one of the patents and December 11, 2017 for the other two patents. PRB hearings regarding the validity of the patents were held in April and May 2018. The PRB issued orders upholding the validity of two of the patents subject to Apple’s invalidity challenges. The PRB has not ruled on the invalidation request with respect to the other patent.
On January 12, 2018, we filed three additional complaints against Apple and certain of its subsidiaries in the Fuzhou (China) Intermediate People’s Court, asserting infringement of three additional patents. The complaints seek remedies including injunctive relief and costs. The patents have not been declared as essential to any standards organization and are not subject to commitments to license on FRAND terms.
Also on January 12, 2018, we filed three complaints against certain of Apple’s subsidiaries in the Jiangsu (China) High People’s Court, asserting infringement of three of our patents. The complaints seek remedies including injunctive relief, damages and costs. The patents have not been declared as essential to any standards organization and are not subject to commitments to license on FRAND terms. On February 5, 2018, Apple’s subsidiaries filed invalidation requests with the PRB. PRB hearings regarding the validity of the patents were held in June 2018. The PRB issued orders upholding the validity of one of the patents and partially upholding the validity of another patent. The PRB has not ruled on the invalidation request for the final patent.
On February 2, 2018, we filed three complaints against certain of Apple’s subsidiaries in the Qingdao (China) Intermediate People’s Court, asserting infringement of three of our patents. The complaints seek remedies including injunctive relief and costs. The patents have not been declared as essential to any standards organization and are not subject to commitments to license on FRAND terms. On February 26, 2018, Apple’s subsidiaries filed invalidation requests with the PRB. PRB hearings regarding the validity of the patents were held in June 2018. The PRB issued orders upholding the validity of one of the patents and invalidating another patent. The PRB has not ruled on the invalidation request for the final patent.
Also on February 2, 2018, we filed three complaints against certain of Apple’s subsidiaries in the Guangzhou (China) Intermediate People’s Court, asserting infringement of three of our patents. The complaints seek remedies including injunctive relief and costs. The patents have not been declared as essential to any standards organization and are not subject to commitments to license on FRAND terms. On March 14, 2018, Apple’s subsidiaries filed invalidation requests with the PRB. PRB hearings regarding the validity of the patents began in July 2018. The PRB issued orders upholding the validity of two of the patents. The PRB has not ruled on the invalidation request for the final patent. An infringement hearing for one of the patents was held on October 18, 2018.
On June 14, 2018, we filed three complaints against certain of Apple’s subsidiaries in the Guangdong (China) High People’s Court, asserting infringement of three of our patents. The complaints seek remedies including injunctive relief and costs. The patents have not been declared as essential to any standards organization and are not subject to commitments to license on FRAND terms. On August 13, 2018, Apple’s subsidiaries filed invalidation requests with the PRB. The PRB has not yet set hearing dates.
We believe Apple’s counterclaims and invalidation requests in the above matters are without merit.
3226701 Canada, Inc. v. QUALCOMM Incorporated et al: On November 30, 2015, a securities class action complaint was filed by purported stockholders of us in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California against us and certain of our current and former officers. On April 29, 2016, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint. On January 27, 2017, the court dismissed the amended complaint in its entirety, granting leave to amend. On March 17, 2017, the plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint, alleging that we and certain of our current and former officers violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, by making false and misleading statements regarding our business outlook and product development between November 19, 2014 and July 22, 2015. The second amended complaint sought unspecified damages, interest, attorneys’ fees and other costs. On May 8, 2017, we filed a motion to dismiss the second amended complaint. On October 20, 2017, the court entered an order granting in part our motion to dismiss, and on November 29, 2017, the court entered an order granting the remaining portions of our motion to dismiss. On December 28, 2017, the plaintiffs filed an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. No hearing date has been set. We believe the plaintiffs’ claims are without merit.
Consolidated Securities Class Action Lawsuit: On January 23, 2017 and January 26, 2017, securities class action complaints were filed by purported stockholders of us in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California against us and certain of our current and former officers and directors. The complaints alleged, among other things, that we violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, by making false and misleading statements and omissions of material fact in connection with certain allegations that we are or were engaged in anticompetitive conduct. The complaints sought unspecified damages, interest, fees and costs. On May 4, 2017, the court consolidated the two actions and appointed lead plaintiffs. On July 3, 2017, the lead plaintiffs filed a consolidated amended complaint asserting the same basic theories of liability and requesting the same basic relief. On September 1, 2017, we filed a motion to dismiss the consolidated amended complaint. The court has not yet ruled on our motion to dismiss. We believe the plaintiffs’ claims are without merit.
Camp v. Qualcomm Incorporated et al: On June 8, 2018 and June 26, 2018, securities class action complaints were filed by purported stockholders of us in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California against us and two of our current officers. The complaints allege, among other things, that we violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, by failing to disclose that we had submitted a notice to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in January 2018. The complaints seek unspecified damages, interest, fees and costs. Upon the appointment of lead plaintiff in the action and the filing of a First Amended Complaint, we anticipate filing a motion to dismiss the complaint, as we believe the plaintiffs’ claims are without merit.
Consumer Class Action Lawsuit: Since January 18, 2017, a number of consumer class action complaints have been filed against us in the United States District Courts for the Southern and Northern Districts of California, each on behalf of a putative class of purchasers of cellular phones and other cellular devices. Twenty-two such cases remain outstanding. In April 2017, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred the cases that had been filed in the Southern District of California to the Northern District of California. On May 15, 2017, the court entered an order appointing the plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel. On July 11, 2017, the plaintiffs filed a consolidated amended complaint alleging that we violated California and federal antitrust and unfair competition laws by, among other things, refusing to license standard-essential patents to our competitors, conditioning the supply of certain of our baseband chipsets on the purchaser first agreeing to license our entire patent portfolio, entering into exclusive deals with companies, including Apple Inc., and charging unreasonably high royalties that do not comply with our commitments to standard setting organizations. The complaint seeks unspecified damages and disgorgement and/or restitution, as well as an order that we be enjoined from further unlawful conduct. On August 11, 2017, we filed a motion to dismiss the consolidated amended complaint. On November 10, 2017, the court denied our motion, except to the extent that certain claims seek damages under the Sherman Antitrust Act. On July 5, 2018, the plaintiffs filed a motion for class certification, and the court granted that motion on September 27, 2018. The case is currently in the discovery stage, with discovery scheduled to close on December 28, 2018. Trial is scheduled to begin on June 24, 2019. We believe the plaintiffs’ claims are without merit.
Canadian Consumer Class Action Lawsuits: Since November 9, 2017, six consumer class action complaints have been filed against us in Canada (in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Supreme Court of British Columbia, and the Quebec Superior Court), each on behalf of a putative class of purchasers of cellular phones and other cellular devices, alleging various violations of Canadian competition and consumer protection laws. The claims are similar to those in the FTC and U.S. consumer class action complaints. The complaints seek unspecified damages. We have not yet answered the complaints.
Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) Complaint: The JFTC received unspecified complaints alleging that our business practices are, in some way, a violation of Japanese law. On September 29, 2009, the JFTC issued a cease and desist order concluding that our Japanese licensees were forced to cross-license patents to us on a royalty-free basis and were forced to accept a provision under which they agreed not to assert their essential patents against our other licensees who made a similar commitment in their license agreements with us. The cease and desist order seeks to require us to modify our existing license agreements with Japanese companies to eliminate these provisions while preserving the license of our patents to those companies. We disagree with the conclusions that we forced our Japanese licensees to agree to any provision in the parties’ agreements and that those provisions violate the Japanese Antimonopoly Act. We invoked our right under Japanese law to an administrative hearing before the JFTC. In February 2010, the Tokyo High Court granted our motion and issued a stay of the cease and desist order pending the administrative hearing before the JFTC. The JFTC has held hearings on 37 different dates. No further hearings are currently scheduled. Fines or other monetary remedies are not available in this matter.
Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) Complaint: On January 4, 2010, the KFTC issued a written decision finding that we violated Korean law by offering certain discounts and rebates for purchases of our CDMA chipsets and for including in certain agreements language requiring the continued payment of royalties after all licensed patents expired. The KFTC levied a fine, which we paid and recorded as an expense in fiscal 2010. We appealed to the Seoul High Court, and on June 19, 2013, the Seoul High Court affirmed the KFTC’s decision. On July 4, 2013, we filed an appeal with the Korea Supreme Court. There have been no material developments since then with respect to this matter.
Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) Investigation: On March 17, 2015, the KFTC notified us that it was conducting an investigation of us relating to the Korean Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act (MRFTA). On December 27, 2016, the KFTC announced that it had reached a decision in the investigation, finding that we violated provisions of the MRFTA. On January 22, 2017, we received the KFTC’s formal written decision, which found that the following conducts violate the MRFTA: (i) refusing to license, or imposing restrictions on licenses for, cellular communications standard-essential patents with competing modem chipset makers; (ii) conditioning the supply of modem chipsets to handset suppliers on their execution and performance of license agreements with us; and (iii) coercing agreement terms including portfolio license terms, royalty terms and free cross-grant terms in executing patent license agreements with handset makers. The KFTC’s decision orders us to: (i) upon request by modem chipset companies, engage in good-faith negotiations for patent license agreements, without offering unjustifiable conditions, and if necessary submit to a determination of terms by an independent third party; (ii) not demand that handset companies execute and perform under patent license agreements as a precondition for purchasing modem chipsets; (iii) not demand unjustifiable conditions in our license agreements with handset companies, and upon request renegotiate existing patent license agreements; and (iv) notify modem chipset companies and handset companies of the decision and order imposed on us and report to the KFTC new or amended agreements. According to the KFTC’s decision, the foregoing will apply to transactions between us and the following enterprises: (i) handset manufacturers headquartered in Korea and their affiliate companies; (ii) enterprises that sell handsets in or to Korea and their affiliate companies; (iii) enterprises that supply handsets to companies referred to in (ii) above and the affiliate companies of such enterprises; (iv) modem chipset manufacturers headquartered in Korea and their affiliate companies; and (v) enterprises that supply modem chipsets to companies referred to in (i), (ii) or (iii) above and the affiliate companies of such enterprises. The KFTC’s decision also imposed a fine of 1.03 trillion Korean Won (approximately $927 million), which we paid on March 30, 2017. We believe that our business practices do not violate the MRFTA, and on February 21, 2017, we filed an action in the Seoul High Court to cancel the KFTC’s decision. On the same day, we filed an application with the Seoul High Court to stay the decision’s remedial order pending the Seoul High Court’s final judgment on our action to cancel the KFTC’s decision. On September 4, 2017, the Seoul High Court denied our application to stay the remedial order, and on November 27, 2017, the Korea Supreme Court dismissed our appeal of the Seoul High Court’s decision on the application to stay. The Seoul High Court has not ruled on our action to cancel the KFTC’s decision.
Icera Complaint to the European Commission (EC): On June 7, 2010, the EC notified and provided us with a redacted copy of a complaint filed with the EC by Icera, Inc. (subsequently acquired by Nvidia Corporation) alleging that we were engaged in anticompetitive activity. We were asked by the EC to submit a preliminary response to the portions of the complaint disclosed to us, and we submitted our response in July 2010. Subsequently, we provided additional documents and information as requested by the EC. On July 16, 2015, the EC announced that it had initiated formal proceedings in this matter. On December 8, 2015, the EC announced that it had issued a Statement of Objections expressing its preliminary view that between 2009 and 2011, we were engaged in predatory pricing by selling certain baseband chipsets to two customers at prices below cost, with the intention of hindering competition. A Statement of Objections informs the subject of the investigation of the allegations against it and provides an opportunity to respond to such allegations. It is not a determination of the final outcome of the investigation. On August 15, 2016, we submitted our response to the Statement of Objections. On July 19, 2018, the EC announced that it had issued a Supplementary Statement of Objections which focuses on certain elements of the “price-cost” test applied by the EC to assess the extent to which we sold certain baseband chipsets allegedly below cost. On October 22, 2018, we submitted our response to the Supplementary Statement of Objections. If a violation is found, a broad range of remedies is potentially available to the EC, including imposing a fine (of up to 10% of our revenues) and/or injunctive relief prohibiting or restricting certain business practices. It is difficult to predict the outcome of this matter or what remedies, if any, may be imposed by the EC. We believe that our business practices do not violate the European Union (EU) competition rules.
European Commission (EC) Investigation: On October 15, 2014, the EC notified us that it was conducting an investigation of us relating to Articles 101 and/or 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). On July 16, 2015, the EC announced that it had initiated formal proceedings in this matter. On December 8, 2015, the EC announced that it had issued a Statement of Objections expressing its preliminary view that, pursuant to an agreement with Apple Inc., since 2011, we paid significant amounts to Apple on the condition that it exclusively use our baseband chipsets in its smartphones and tablets. This conduct allegedly reduced Apple’s incentives to source baseband chipsets from our competitors and harmed competition and innovation for certain baseband chipsets. On January 24, 2018, the EC issued a decision finding that certain terms of that agreement violate EU competition law and imposed a fine of 997 million Euros. On April 6, 2018, we filed an appeal of the EC’s decision with the General Court of the European Union. The court has not ruled on our appeal. We believe that our business practices do not violate the EU competition rules.
We recorded a charge of $1.18 billion to other expenses related to the EC fine in the first quarter of fiscal 2018. We provided financial guarantees in the third quarter of fiscal 2018 to satisfy the obligation in lieu of cash payment while we appeal the EC’s decision. The fine is accruing interest at a rate of 1.50% per annum while it is outstanding. At September 30, 2018, the liability, including related foreign currency gains and accrued interest (which were recorded in investment and other income, net), was $1.17 billion and included in other current liabilities.
United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) v. QUALCOMM Incorporated: On September 17, 2014, the FTC notified us that it was conducting an investigation of us relating to Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA). On January 17, 2017, the FTC filed a complaint against us in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California alleging that we were engaged in anticompetitive conduct and unfair methods of competition in violation of Section 5 of the FTCA by conditioning the supply of baseband processors on the purchaser first agreeing to a license to our standard-essential patents, paying incentives to purchasers of baseband processors to induce them to accept certain license terms, refusing to license our standard-essential patents to our competitors, and entering into alleged exclusive dealing arrangements with Apple Inc. The complaint seeks a permanent injunction against our alleged violations of the FTCA and other unspecified ancillary equitable relief. A fine is not an available remedy in this matter, and we do not believe that other monetary remedies are likely. On April 19, 2017, the court set a trial date for January 4, 2019. Fact and expert discovery are now closed. On August 30, 2018, the FTC moved for partial summary judgment that our commitments to license our cellular standard-essential patents to the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) require us to make licenses available to rival sellers of modem chipsets. On September 25, 2018, we filed our opposition to this motion, and on October 4, 2018, the FTC filed its reply. On October 15, 2018, we and the FTC submitted a Joint Administrative Motion asking the District Court to defer ruling on the FTC’s partial summary judgment motion in order to facilitate the parties’ ongoing discussions concerning settlement of this litigation, which the District Court denied on the same day. On November 6, 2018, the District Court granted the FTC’s partial summary judgment motion. We believe the FTC’s claims in this case are without merit.
Taiwan Fair Trade Commission (TFTC) Investigation: On December 4, 2015, the TFTC notified us that it was conducting an investigation into whether our patent licensing practices violate the Taiwan Fair Trade Act (TFTA). On October 11, 2017, the TFTC announced that it had reached a decision in the investigation, finding that we violated the TFTA. On October 23, 2017, we received TFTC’s formal written decision, which found that the following conducts violate the TFTA: (i) refusing to license and demanding restrictive covenants from chipset competitors; (ii) refusing to supply baseband processors to companies that do not have an executed license; and (iii) providing a royalty discount to Apple in exchange for its exclusive use of our chipsets. The TFTC’s decision was based on a four-three vote and included three written dissents. The TFTC’s decision orders us to: (1) cease the following conduct within 60 days of the day after receipt of the decision: (a) applying the clauses in an agreement entered into with a competing chipset supplier requesting it to provide sensitive sales information such as chipset prices, customers, sales volumes, product types and serial numbers; (b) applying clauses in component supply agreements entered into with handset manufacturers relating to the refusal to sell chipsets to unlicensed manufacturers; and (c) applying discount clauses in the exclusive agreement entered into with a relevant enterprise; (2) notify competing chipset companies and handset manufacturers in writing within 30 days after receipt of the decision that those companies may request to amend or enter into patent license agreements and other relevant agreements within 60 days of the day following the day such notices are received, and upon receipt of such requests, we shall commence negotiation in good faith; (3) submit status reports to the TFTC on any such negotiations every six months beginning from the day after receipt of the decision, as well as to submit a report to the TFTC within 30 days after amendments to any license agreements or newly signed license agreements are executed (collectively, the TFTC Remedies). The TFTC’s decision also imposed a fine of 23.4 billion Taiwan Dollars. On December 22, 2017, we filed an Administrative Litigation Complaint in the Taiwan Intellectual Property Court (IPC) to revoke the TFTC’s decision.
On August 9, 2018, we announced that we had reached a settlement with the TFTC, which resolved the TFTC’s investigation of us and our litigation challenging the TFTC’s decision. By the terms of the Settlement Transcript executed under the supervision of the IPC, the entire TFTC decision is deemed revoked ab initio, including all TFTC Remedies and the fine, and the Settlement Transcript replaced the TFTC decision in its entirety. As part of the resolution, we agreed to certain process-related commitments confirming principles of mutual good-faith and fairness in the negotiation of agreements with handset licensees regarding our cellular standard-essential patents. The resolution does not require component-level licensing. In addition, we will undertake certain commercial initiatives over the next 5 years for the benefit of the mobile and semiconductor ecosystem (including small- and medium-sized enterprises and consumers), including 5G collaborations, new market expansion, start-up and university collaborations, and the development of a center for operations and manufacturing engineering located in Taiwan. Under the terms of the Settlement Transcript, the resolution of the IPC litigation and the TFTC’s decision shall not constitute or be construed as any evidence of wrongdoing or an admission of liability or wrongdoing. In addition, the terms of the Settlement Transcript fully and finally resolve all concerns expressed by the TFTC with respect to the investigation of our chipset and licensing businesses. Our litigation challenging the TFTC’s decision filed in the IPC is now closed. On August 8, 2018, the IPC denied certain petitions by various companies to intervene into the IPC case. On August 24, 2018, MediaTek filed an Appeal of this decision with the IPC, claiming that its petition to intervene was wrongfully denied. On October 10, 2018, we filed our opposition to MediaTek’s appeal. The TFTC has also filed an opposition to MediaTek’s appeal. The IPC has not set a hearing date for MediaTek’s appeal. We believe that MediaTek’s appeal is without merit.
In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017, we recorded a charge of $778 million to other expenses related to the TFTC fine. The fine was to be paid in monthly installments through December 2022, and prior to the settlement, we paid seven installments totaling $93 million. As a result of the settlement, the parties agreed that the amounts we paid towards the fine through the date of the settlement will be retained by the TFTC, and no other amounts will be due. As a result, we reversed the remaining $676 million accrual to other expenses in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018.
Contingent losses: We will continue to vigorously defend ourself in the foregoing matters. However, litigation and investigations are inherently uncertain, and we face difficulties in evaluating or estimating likely outcomes or ranges of possible loss in antitrust and trade regulation investigations in particular. Other than with respect to the EC fine, we have not recorded any accrual at September 30, 2018 for contingent losses associated with these matters based on our belief that losses, while possible, are not probable. Further, any possible range of loss cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. The unfavorable resolution of one or more of these matters could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. We are engaged in numerous other legal actions not described above arising in the ordinary course of our business and, while there can be no assurance, believe that the ultimate outcome of these other legal actions will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.
Indemnifications. We generally do not indemnify our customers and licensees for losses sustained from infringement of third-party intellectual property rights. However, we are contingently liable under certain product sales, services, license and other agreements to indemnify certain customers, chipset foundries and semiconductor assembly and test service providers against certain types of liability and/or damages arising from qualifying claims of patent, copyright, trademark or trade secret infringement by products or services sold or provided by us, or by intellectual property provided by us to chipset foundries and semiconductor assembly and test service providers. Our obligations under these agreements may be limited in terms of time and/or amount, and in some instances, we may have recourse against third parties for certain payments made by us.
Through September 30, 2018, we have received a number of claims from our direct and indirect customers and other third parties for indemnification under such agreements with respect to alleged infringement of third-party intellectual property rights by our products. Reimbursements under indemnification arrangements have not been material to our consolidated financial statements. We have not recorded any accrual for contingent liabilities at September 30, 2018 associated with these indemnification arrangements based on our belief that additional liabilities, while possible, are not probable. Further, any possible range of loss cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.
Purchase Obligations and Operating Leases. We have agreements with suppliers and other parties to purchase inventory, other goods and services and long-lived assets. Integrated circuit product inventory obligations represent purchase commitments for raw materials, semiconductor die, finished goods and manufacturing services, such as wafer bump, probe, assembly and final test. Under our manufacturing relationships with our foundry suppliers and assembly and test service providers, cancelation of outstanding purchase commitments is generally allowed but requires payment of costs incurred through the date of cancelation, and in some cases, incremental fees related to capacity underutilization.
We lease certain of our land, facilities and equipment under noncancelable operating leases, with terms ranging from less than one year to 21 years and with provisions in certain leases for cost-of-living increases. Rental expense for fiscal 2018, 2017 and 2016 was $160 million, $129 million and $116 million, respectively.
Obligations under our purchase agreements and future minimum lease payments under our operating leases at September 30, 2018 were as follows (in millions):
Other Commitments. At September 30, 2018, we have committed to fund certain strategic investments up to $316 million, of which $35 million, $5 million, $70 million, $4 million and $4 million is expected to be funded in each of the five years from fiscal 2019 through fiscal 2023, respectively. The remaining commitments do not have fixed funding dates and are subject to certain conditions. Commitments represent the maximum amounts to be funded under these arrangements; actual funding may be in lesser amounts or not at all.
In March 2018, our RF360 Holdings joint venture entered into an agreement for a build-to-suit construction project with a third-party lessor for the development of a manufacturing facility located in Singapore. The agreement includes a long-term lease commitment with a noncancelable 10-year term commencing upon completion of the construction project. At September 30, 2018, the minimum lease commitment under the agreement based on the noncancelable term was $87 million.
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