The FTC v Qualcomm decision could significantly disrupt current SEP licensing practices. This piece explores the practical implications of the decision and its affect on current owners of cellular standard-essential patents (SEPs). It also provides background on the SEP licensing model used by Qualcomm, examines the contour of the ‘freedom to contract’ principle that SEP owners have used to justify their licensing models and discusses how the court embraced a robust exception to that principle.