If Judge Koh rules in favor of the FTC, Qualcomm's grip on mobile broadband chips will loosen

In January 2017,  the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a suit against chip maker Qualcomm over the company's standard-essential mobile broadband chip patents. The legal system being what it is in the states, the bench trial (meaning that instead of a jury, the judge will come up with the verdict) isn't set to take place until early next January. But the FTC has already filed a motion for a partial summary judgment, which would allow Judge Lucy Koh (you remember her from Apple v. Samsung) to make a ruling on parts of the claim without having to hear any of the facts.

The ...