Qualcomm scored another legal victory over the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), after a US appeals court rejected a request by regulator to re-examine a patent licensing case against the chipmaker.

A brief note by the appeals court explained “no judge has requested a vote on whether to rehear the matter”.

Last month, the FTC asked all 11 members of the appeals court to review a decision made by a panel of three judges in August that Qualcomm’s patent licensing practices did not violate competition law.

Don Rosenberg, Qualcomm EVP and general counsel, told Mobile World Live the fact none of the judges “thought it necessary to consider the merits of the FTC’s petition or to even ask for a response from Qualcomm validates the strength and clarity of the panel’s thorough analysis and conclusions”.

A plea to the US Supreme Court remains an option for the FTC.