The US Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against Qualcomm has been given the green light by a US federal judge, who ruled that the iPhone chip supplier must answer to US regulators – even as it contests a separate US$1 billion lawsuit filed by Apple.

US District Judge Lucy Koh denied Qualcomm’s motion to dismiss the FTC’s lawsuit, saying the agency’s allegations would amount to anti-competitive behaviour on Qualcomm’s part if proved true.

The FTC sued Qualcomm in January, alleging the company engaged in anti-competitive tactics in order to maintain a monopoly on the chips that let mobile phones connect to mobile data networks.