The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted in its entirety Qualcomm’s request for a partial stay, pending appeal, of an injunction from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

In addition, the Court ordered oral argument on Qualcomm's expedited appeal to be set in January 2020.

“We are pleased that the Ninth Circuit granted our request and believe the district court decision will be overturned once the merits of our appeal have been considered,” said Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel for Qualcomm. “The stay, which remains in effect through the course of the appeals process, keeps intact Qualcomm’s patent-licensing practices. This will allow Qualcomm to continue to invest in inventing the fundamental technologies at the heart of mobile communications at this critical time of transition to 5G.”

The decision of the federal appeals court is temporarily protecting Qualcomm from an FTC antitrust ruling that would have forced the mobile chipmaker to drastically change how it licenses key technology for connecting smartphones to the internet.

As part of her decision, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh ordered reforms that Qualcomm argued would have unfairly eroded its revenue and potentially given away its technological secrets. The stay will prevent that from happening while Qualcomm pursues its appeal.

The FTC says it’s disappointed by the stay.