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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteChina’s 2015 antitrust resolution with Qualcomm set lower royalty rates for certain branded 3G and 4G devices sold for use in China: 5% for specified 3G devices and 3.5% for specified 4G devices, calculated on 65% of the device’s net selling price. The deal was part of a wider corrective package and came with a RMB 6.088 billion fine. It was a 2015 resolution, not a new 2026 royalty-cut agreement.
What royalty cuts did China secure from Qualcomm?
The rates appeared in Qualcomm’s February 9, 2015 announcement of its resolution with China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). They covered licenses to Qualcomm’s essential Chinese patents for branded devices sold for use in China—not every Qualcomm patent, device, or market.
| Covered device category | Announced royalty rate | Calculation base |
|---|---|---|
| 3G devices, including multimode 3G/4G devices | 5% | 65% of the device’s net selling price |
| 4G devices that did not implement CDMA or WCDMA, including three-mode LTE-TDD devices | 3.5% | 65% of the device’s net selling price |
Qualcomm said existing licensees could elect the terms for covered China sales beginning January 1, 2015. The 65% base is important: the announced percentage was not applied to the full net selling price. The announcement establishes the schedule and scope, but does not provide license-by-license data to calculate each company’s actual savings.
What did the NDRC find, and what did Qualcomm agree to?
On February 10, 2015, the NDRC said its investigation found that Qualcomm had abused a dominant position in relevant markets. The authority described concerns about patent-license fees it considered unfairly high and conditions tied to baseband-chip sales. It said Qualcomm’s submitted corrective package met its requirements. Read the NDRC’s February 10, 2015 statement.
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Qualcomm described the outcome in its own announcement as an administrative sanction decision finding a violation. It said it would not contest the NDRC’s findings: “Qualcomm will not pursue further legal proceedings contesting the NDRC’s findings.” That is Qualcomm’s statement, not a quotation from the regulator. Read Qualcomm’s February 9, 2015 announcement.
Other parts of the corrective package
The rate change was only one part of the resolution. The NDRC described commitments that addressed how Qualcomm licensed patents and supplied chips:
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- Samsung Regional Lock will be unlocked. This process requires unsealing the unit prior to shipping.
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- Use the 65% device-price base for the specified China handset licensing.
- Provide patent lists and stop collecting royalties on expired patents.
- Stop requiring Chinese licensees to grant Qualcomm free licenses to their patents.
- Avoid unjustified bundling of non-wireless-essential patents with licenses to wireless standard-essential patents.
- Stop conditioning baseband-chip sales on license terms the NDRC considered unreasonable or on a licensee not challenging those terms.
Qualcomm qualified the chip-sales commitment: it said the resolution did not require it to sell chips to entities that were not Qualcomm licensees, or where a chip customer refused to report licensed-device sales as required by its license. Qualcomm’s announcement describes that qualification.
How large was the fine?
The NDRC imposed a fine of RMB 6.088 billion, which it said equaled 8% of Qualcomm’s 2013 sales in China. Qualcomm also reported the yuan amount and gave an approximate US$975 million conversion at the exchange rates then in effect. The yuan figure is the durable amount; the historical dollar conversion should not be read as a current value. NDRC statement; Qualcomm announcement.
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- Samsung Regional Lock will be unlocked. This process requires unsealing the unit prior to shipping.
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Was there another Qualcomm royalty-cut deal in 2026?
The available 2026 company filing does not announce a new royalty-cut deal or replace the 2015 schedule. In its filing for the quarter ended June 28, 2026, Qualcomm identified risks involving its reliance on Chinese OEMs, possible adoption of in-house or competing chips, and U.S.–China trade and national-security tensions. Those are company-identified business risks, not evidence of a newly negotiated royalty rate. Qualcomm SEC filings.
Qualcomm also reported later licensing activity: in its fiscal 2025 quarterly filing, it said it executed final agreements for new long-term licenses with two key Chinese OEMs whose initial terms had expired, as well as comprehensive 4G/5G license agreements with Transsion. The excerpt does not establish that those agreements changed the 2015 rates. Qualcomm SEC filings.
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A separate October 2025 report concerned a SAMR official’s account of a probe related to Qualcomm’s acquisition of Autotalks and review requirements. That acquisition-review matter was distinct from the NDRC’s 2015 patent-licensing investigation and its remedies. China’s government information-office report.
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