Qualcomm says Apple infringed on its patents with Intel equipped iPhones
Qualcomm and Apple have a lot of court time scheduled over the next few weeks, and we aren't talking about handball. On March 26th, the International Trade Commission (ITC) is expected to decide whether to impose a sales and importation ban on certain Apple iPhone models. An ITC judge has already ruled that Apple infringed on a Qualcomm patent, but decided not to ban the iPhone because such an action would negatively impact the modem chip market. The full commission will make its final ruling in about three weeks.
Next month, Apple and Qualcomm square off in federal court over $1 billion in royalties that Apple says it "unfairly" paid to Qualcomm. Apple claims that Qualcomm charged it royalties for technology that has nothing to do with the chip maker. For example, if your iPhone is broken and needs to be sent back to Foxconn for repair, Qualcomm charges Apple 5% of what it pays the contract manufacturer to fix the device. Qualcomm asks for this percentage even if the problem with the unit has nothing to do with a Qualcomm component.
Ahead of the April courtroom battle, Qualcomm and Apple return to district court in San Diego today for a quick eight day trial. Reuters reports that the chip maker is accusing Apple of infringing on a Qualcomm patent related to faster boot-up times for smartphones, and another that extends battery life during certain tasks. The chip maker seeks $1.41 for each iPhone sold between the middle of 2017 and the fall of 2018 that infringed on these patents. Qualcomm says that Apple iPhone models containing Intel modem chips, about half of the models sold over the aforementioned time period, infringed on its patents.
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