Chip supplier Qualcomm Inc won a second court skirmish in its worldwide patent battle with Apple Inc on Thursday, with the iPhone maker saying it would pull some older models from its German stores.
MUNICH/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Chip supplier Qualcomm Inc won a second court skirmish in its worldwide patent battle with Apple Inc on Thursday, with the iPhone maker saying it would pull some older models from its German stores.
Qualcomm’s win in Germany comes weeks after it secured a court order in China to ban sales of some iPhone models in that country. Apple, which is appealing both rulings, has kept all of its iPhones on sale in China but made changes to its iOS operating system in the wake of the Chinese order.
The German victory may affect only a few million iPhones out of the hundreds of millions that Apple sells each year, but it is a high-profile part of a larger legal battle that will spin into overdrive in the coming months, with antitrust regulators and Apple both taking Qualcomm to court in the United States.
Apple alleges that Qualcomm engaged in illegal behavior to preserve a monopoly on modem chips, which help mobile devices connect to wireless data networks. Qualcomm has in turn accused Apple of using vast stable of technology innovations without proper compensation.
On Thursday, Apple said it would pull older iPhones from its German stores after a court there ruled that Apple infringed a hardware patent of Qualcomm Inc and banned sales of iPhones there with chips from Apple supplier Qorvo Inc.
Qualcomm needs to post a bond of 668.4 million euros, or $765 million, before it can begin proceedings to enforce the order, a move that could take several days due to holiday-related court closures next week. Apple said it was appealing the decision, but the order goes into effect as soon as Qualcomm posts the bond.
