![[속보] 애플 -퀄컴 300억달러 로열티 소송 합의, 뉴욕증시 IT 기술주 폭등 코스피 코스닥 청신호](https://nimage.g-enews.com/phpwas/restmb_allidxmake.php?idx=5&simg=20190417053645066664a01bf698f1209125250.jpg)
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최대 300억달러 규모의 법정 공방에 나섰던 애플과 퀄컴이 모든 소송과 로열티 분쟁을 종료하기로 데 합의했다.
애플 주가도 강보합이다.
Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. agreed to end a two-year legal battle over billions of dollars of technology licensing fees that had threatened to jeopardize the chipmaker’s most profitable line of business. Qualcomm’s shares jumped 23 percent on the announcement.
Apple will make a one-time payment to Qualcomm and the two entered into a multiyear-chip supply and licensing agreement, effective April 1, in which the iPhone maker will pay royalties to Qualcomm, the companies said Tuesday in a statement. Litigation between the companies around the world will be dismissed, according to the statement. No amounts related to the payments or fees were given.
The deal for Qualcomm modems will keep Apple from falling behind in smartphone technology. The industry is poised to move to fifth generation, or 5G, wireless systems that bring the promise of faster download speeds and a host of new services. Apple’s current modem supplier, Intel Corp., won’t have its 5G chip in phones until next year, it has said -- about the time Qualcomm expects to have an updated 5G modem available.
Apple’s biggest rival, Samsung Electronics Co., already has a phone in the market that will support that new technology based on a Qualcomm chip.
“There were worries that this was going to be a nasty court battle, and I think that Apple realized, despite wanting to make a statement, that it was in their best interest, based on 5G and licensing issues, to settle,” said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. “Apple and Qualcomm both had more to lose in trial than if they just settled.”
Qualcomm said it anticipates the agreement to add $2 per share to its earnings when it begins shipments of chips to Apple. While it’s not clear how much Qualcomm gave up in concessions in terms of payments and rates, the settlement lets it continue one of the most profitable businesses in the $400 billion semiconductor industry. Apple was the remaining holdout from a licensing practice that allows the San Diego-based chipmaker to charge patent royalties on technology that underpins all modern smartphones.
The two sides began a jury trial Monday in San Diego that was to decide whether Apple owed Qualcomm unpaid royalties or the iPhone maker was right to argue that it was the victim of unfairly inflated charges.
Qualcomm’s stock, which had underperformed this year, jumped to $70.45 at the close in New York. Apple was little changed at $199.25. Representatives for Apple and Qualcomm declined to comment beyond the statement. Qualcomm is scheduled to report earnings May 1, when it will likely give more financial details.
Qualcomm is still waiting for a federal judge’s ruling on claims by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that the company’s licensing practices are anti-competitive. The regulator accused Qualcomm in a 2017 lawsuit of using its dominance in the smartphone technology market to thwart competitors’ growth and force companies including Apple and Huawei Technologies Co. to pay inflated patent royalties. A nonjury trial in San Jose, California, was held in January.
Separately, Qualcomm faces a class action on behalf as many as 250 million consumers seeking as much as $5 billion in damages over claims they suffered from inflated retail prices. The company has said it’s probably the largest class action in history and is asking an appeals court to block the consumers from proceeding as a group.
애플과 퀄컴은 이날 성명을 통해 특허소송과 관련해 합의를 이뤘다고 밝혔다.
애플과 퀄컴은 전 세계적으로 제기한 각종 소송도 일괄 취하하기로 했다.
구체적인 합의 내용은 아직 공개되지 않았다.
뉴욕증시에서는 애플이 퀄컴에 한꺼번에 일정 금액의 로열티를 지급하고, 양측이 '2년 연장' 옵션의 6년짜리 라이선스 계약을 체결하는 합의가 이뤄진 것으로 보고있다.
이에 따라 애플에 대한 퀄컴의 모뎀 칩 공급도 재개될 것으로 보인다.
애플은 퀄컴과의 분쟁 이후 스마트폰등에 인텔의 모뎀 칩을 사용해왔다.'
김대호 기자 tiger8280@g-enews.com
