Apple's Eddy Cue to be deposed in Qualcomm case

Judge Mitchell Dembin rejected Apple's position that Cue's current role at the company makes him irrelevant to the case, Bloomberg said.

Apple and Qualcomm have been embroiled in an international legal war since the former launched a $1 billion U.S. lawsuit in January last year.

Qualcomm filed to depose Cue in November, and has argued that the executive is indeed important since he was one of the lead negotiators for Apple when the 2007 iPhone launched as an AT&T exclusive.

Cue will join a roster of Apple executives undergoing questioning, others being COO Jeff Williams, marketing lead Phil Schiller, and hardware head Johny Srouji. In April, Apple and Qualcomm agreed to a June 27 date for the deposition of CEO Tim Cook.

The two companies are locked in a bitter legal dispute that spans multiple jurisdictions, with Apple claiming Qualcomm abuses its "monopoly power" to charge excessive licensing fees. Qualcomm has responded with a string of lawsuits claiming patent infringement.

Regulators have meanwhile scrutinized Qualcomm's past deals — in January 2018 for example, the European Union leveled a $1.23 billion fine over a five-year chip exclusivity deal with Apple.

There are signs the dispute could be resolved out of court. Qualcomm recently announced friendlier licensing terms that could placate Apple. Much is at stake, since the latter could potentially switch to Intel as its only cellular modem supplier.