Chip maker Qualcomm's top executives blamed the company's legal problems in the US and Europe on jealous rivals, an Associated Press report said.
The Associated Press report quoted top executives at the No. 2 chip maker globally for mobile phones as saying that they are embroiled in so many patent infringement and antitrust lawsuits in the US, Europe and Asia that they have a hard time keeping track.
In town for a board meeting and to visit with federal lawmakers and White House officials, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs and president Steven Altman told a group of reporters that competitors target the company because of its business model, the Associated Press report said.
Qualcomm licenses more than 5,000 patents to more than 150 companies, which gives smaller companies a chance to innovate and compete against industry giants. Qualcomm uses billions of dollars in royalty revenues from those players to research and develop products, the executives said.
The executives said the problems are not affecting the company's financial performance, according to the report.
Qualcomm's legal problems began in 2005, when the world's largest mobile phone maker, Nokia, and five other companies complained to the European Union about Qualcomm's business practices, the Associated Press report further said.