US: Apple gets penalty in Qualcomm antitrust case

Apple is being fined US$25,000 per day for missing a court-imposed deadline to produce evidence in a government lawsuit that alleges mobile chip supplier Qualcomm has been imposing unfair licensing terms on the makers of smartphones.

In response Apple asked a federal court to nix the US$25,000-per-day fine, arguing that the sanctions imposed by a magistrate judge last month for delays in producing documents in the antitrust litigation against Qualcomm were unduly harsh.

“We have already produced millions of documents for this case and are working hard to deliver the millions more which have been requested in an unprecedented timeframe,” said Apple, which is based in Cupertino, California.

A federal magistrate judge in California sanctioned Apple US$25,000 a day for missing a document production deadline in antitrust suits brought against Qualcomm Inc. by the Federal Trade Commission and a putative class of cell phone buyers, after saying in an earlier hearing he wanted to encourage other third parties in the litigation to meet deadlines.

Full Content: Technology 24

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