Qualcomm failed in a bid to suspend an order by South Korea’s antitrust regulator requiring it to take corrective action over the way it licences patents, Reuters reported.

A spokesperson for the Seoul High Court said it had turned down the request to suspend the corrective order, issued at the end of 2016, because it did not believe the request would cause “irreparable damage” to the US chip giant.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) fined Qualcomm KRW1.03 trillion ($912 million) in December 2016 for abusing its dominant market position by linking modem sales with patent licensing deals.

KFTC also said Qualcomm must negotiate with rival chipmakers in good faith, and renegotiate chip supply agreements with mobile phone makers if required.

The order came after a two year investigation into Qualcomm’s licensing practices.

Qualcomm challenged the decision, stating the fine was “an unprecedented and insupportable decision”, and subsequently filed two lawsuits with the Seoul High Court.

The first called for a nullification of the regulator’s decision, and the other sought a suspension of the corrective order until a ruling on the first was made.

However, the court is yet to make a ruling on Qualcomm’s request to cancel the initial decision.

KTFC launched the investigation in February 2015 after complaints were filed against Qualcomm accusing it of collecting high royalties from its Korean partners for using the company’s standard essential patents.

The KFTC added at the time Samsung, LG, Apple, Intel, Nvidia, MediaTek, Huawei and Ericsson participated in its hearings.