In the latest edition of the Apple-Qualcomm war: Qualcomm wants iPhones out of China.
Qualcomm on Friday confirmed it filed in Beijing property court to stop Apple from selling or manufacturing iPhones in China, according to Bloomberg.
The lawsuit filed on Sept. 29 claimed patent infringement and seeks injunctive relief, and adds to Apple and Qualcomm’s legal battle now expanded worldwide.
“Apple employs technologies invented by Qualcomm without paying for them,” a Qualcomm spokesperson told Bloomberg .
Qualcomm said the lawsuit is based on three non-standard essential patents covering power management and the Force Touch technology in Apple’s touch screen devices.
“Apple believes deeply in the value of innovation, and we have always been willing to pay fair and reasonable rates for patents we use. In our many years of ongoing negotiations with Qualcomm, these patents have never been discussed and in fact were only granted in the last few months,” an Apple spokesperson told The Verge. “Regulators around the world have found Qualcomm guilty of abusing their position for years. This claim is meritless and, like their other courtroom maneuvers, we believe this latest legal effort will fail.”
The companies’ legal battles have been raging for months. It began in January with Apple accusing the semiconductor giant of overcharging for chips and withholding nearly $1 billion in contractual rebate payments. Qualcomm has also responded with a lawsuit in the US that opened an ITC probe.
Intel, another chip partner of Apple, claimed earlier this year Qualcomm’s request for the ITC to intervene was “a transparent effort to stave off lawful competition from Qualcomm’s only remaining rival.”
On Thursday, Qualcomm was fined $774 million for a monopoly on smartphone modems in Taiwan. Qualcomm said it plans to appeal the ruling.
