The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[DewDiligence]

(QCOM)—MON may be world’s most hated company by Luddites, by QCOM is probably the most harassed by governments:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/qualcomm-the-company-governments-love-to-hate-1482948502

There is scarcely a wireless device sold these days that doesn’t generate some revenue for Qualcomm Inc. But that dominant position comes with a price—in the form of a rather large bull's-eye.

Government regulators have targeted mobile technology as vital to their national interest. That means they have targeted Qualcomm, which owns many of the key patents underlying wireless networks and their associated devices. The company settled a major licensing dispute with the Chinese government last year [#msg-110708188], and is currently under scope by regulators in other markets, including the U.S., Europe and, now, South Korea.

None of this is particularly new for Qualcomm, but matters took an unexpected turn this week when the Korea Fair Trade Commission accused the company of breaching antitrust laws with its patent licensing practices. An added wrinkle is the notion that Qualcomm should be required to license its key technology to rival chip makers. The finding came with a fine of about $853 million.

I do not own QCOM.