U.S. antitrust agency poised to sue Qualcomm over patent licensing: sources

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is expected to sue Qualcomm Inc as early as Tuesday over alleged antitrust violations in its patent licensing business, according to people familiar with the matter.

The FTC, which works with the Justice Department to enforce antitrust law, has been investigating San Diego-based Qualcomm for allegedly abusing its dominant market position by forcing mobile phone makers who need their chips to license an unnecessarily broad range of patents.

Qualcomm declined comment and the FTC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Soyoung Kim and Diane Bartz in Washington; editing by Diane Craft)