Did FTC v. Qualcomm Create an Antitrust Duty to License SEPs?

In May 2019, Judge Lucy H. Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a decision in FTC v. Qualcomm. She found that Qualcomm violated the Sherman Act by, among other things, refusing to offer a license to its standard essential patents (“SEPs”) to rival manufacturers of baseband processor modems. Some commentators have suggested that the effects of Judge Koh’s judgment transcend the litigation brought against Qualcomm and create for SEP holders a general