The company said that U.S. national security could be compromised by a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) case challenging the patent-royalty fees Qualcomm charges for smartphones. Some federal officials from defence and energy departments have held meetings to encourage FTC commissioners to settle the lawsuit. Those officials are supporting the company’s claims that financial losses from their defeat in the case would harm the chip-maker and hinder its ability to compete with China’s Huawei. (Wall Street Journal)

Talking point: It seems Qualcomm is trying to use the heightened sensitivity around Huawei in the U.S. to its advantage. Qualcomm has been granted injunctions in cases against Apple in both China and Germany in recent months, resulting in a sales ban of affected phones in the former and some phones being pulled from shelves in the latter. Apple is appealing both decisions. The companies filed dueling lawsuits in the U.S. in November 2017: Apple sued Qualcomm for violating its chip patents, and Qualcomm sued Apple for a number of patent infringements. Qualcomm isn’t always successful in its challenges to Apple. In January 2018, Qualcomm was fined US$1.2 billion by the EU for paying Apple to use Qualcomm technology.