Qualcomm must face shareholder class action over sales practices

A federal judge has ruled that shareholders suing chip maker Qualcomm Inc for allegedly hiding anticompetitive sales and licensing practices may bring their claims as a class action.

The lawsuit filed in San Diego, California, alleges Qualcomm and its executives repeatedly described its businesses of selling chips and licensing its technology to other companies as separate, when in fact the company bundled them in a bid to stifle competition.

The investors leading the case claim the misrepresentations artificially inflated the price of Qualcomm shares between 2012 and 2017.