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European Commission probes of Qualcomm's IPR practises faded from the spotlight when the CDMA giant settled its differences with most of the leading complainants, notably Nokia and Broadcom. However, antitrust allegations to the EC do not just disappear because the antagonists have come to a truce, and the Commission is now understood to be looking at establishing a special panel to address the long standing case.

The EC began investigating Qualcomm's patent royalty rates and licensing practises after a 2005 complaint brought by Nokia, Broadcom, Texas Instruments, Ericsson and Panasonic. Nokia and Broadcom withdrew their complaints after reaching settlements in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

Competition Commissioner Nellie Kroes is leaning towards calling a so-called 'devil's advocate panel', say insiders - a rarely used mechanism only convened for major and highly complex cases that could set precedents for broader antitrust policy. It usually consists of 20 EC officials and gives the Commissioner - who makes the final decision - a wide range of opinions and expertise. The idea of calling such a panel shows that the EC is still taking the Qualcomm case seriously, despite Nokia's change of heart - and Kroes is no pushover, having imposed a record $1.4bn fine on Intel earlier this year when it was found guilty of anti-competitive behavior. But it also suggests that there is deep division within the EC on whether the Qualcomm case should be pursued - some adviser to Kroes are understood to believe there is very little case to answer.

Qualcomm, which denies all allegations, should find out whether it will face further EC action within four weeks, and certainly before Kroes leaves her post in late October, when new Commissioners will be appointed. Qualcomm also faces a potential antitrust suit in Japan, and is appealing a recent record fine by the Korean authorities.

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