Qualcomm has accused Arm of anti-competitive practices on three continents

     Recently, the chip industry has made waves, and the dispute between the British chip design company Arm and Qualcomm has caused widespread concern. It is reported that since its acquisition by SoftBank, Arm's business model has gradually changed from an infrastructure provider to a complete chip designer.

     According to people familiar with the matter, Qualcomm has submitted confidential documents to the European Commission, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and South Korea's Fair Trade Commission, formally accusing Arm of allegedly abusing its dominant market position for anti-competitive conduct.

     In private meetings with regulators and confidential documents, Qualcomm detailed its allegations. Qualcomm said that Arm, after operating an open licensing model for more than 20 years, suddenly changed its strategy and restricted access to technology in order to boost profits through its self-developed chip business. The specific behaviors are as follows: refusing to provide key technologies within the scope of the agreement, which makes the customer encounter obstacles in the process of product development; Modify the license terms to further hinder the customer's product development process; Use its monopoly position in the field of instruction set architecture to squeeze the living space of downstream manufacturers.

     Qualcomm also pointed out that Arm has done "anything" to improve its financial performance. For example, terminating licensing agreements with some customers, requiring chip manufacturers to sign bundled agreements, and even forcing higher royalties.

     Qualcomm believes that Arm has made many companies rely heavily on its technology through an open licensing model, and it is in this model that the chip industry has been able to flourish. Now, however, Arm's restrictive behavior is putting this booming market under threat.

     Reactions to Qualcomm's allegations have been mixed. A Qualcomm spokeswoman declined to comment, as did spokesmen for the European Commission, the U.S. FTC and South Korea's Fair Trade Commission.

     Arm, for its part, expressed full confidence in winning the case. Arm said: "Arm remains focused on enhancing innovation, promoting competition and respecting contractual rights and obligations. Any allegation of anticompetitive conduct is nothing more than a desperate attempt by Qualcomm to distract attention from and broaden the scope of its ongoing commercial dispute with us in its own competitive interests."