A series of experts on the Chinese courts, patent attorneys, and other specialists have weighed in on the Apple versus Qualcomm battle, and believe that resolution through the system is well more than a year away, assuming that an agreement is not reached before then.
Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm has filed multiple lawsuits in China, looking to block both sales and manufacturing of iPhones in the country — something that would cripple Apple worldwide, if successful.
The Taiwan courts have handed down a $773 million fine, finding Qualcomm guilty of anti-trust and monopolistic tactics in how it sells its chips to manufacturers — the same thing that Apple is accusing it of doing.
An unnamed Apple executive — possibly Chief Executive Tim Cook — allegedly asked Samsung to pressure South Korean antitrust regulators into intensifying their investigation into Qualcomm, with the ultimate goal of reducing royalty payments, according to Qualcomm court filings unearthed on Wednesday.
Qualcomm got two bits of bad news today in its squabble with Apple. First, it has failed to force Apple's manufacturing partners to make royalty payments prior to a determination of what the total disputed royalties should be, and second it lost an effort to stop Apple from pursing antitrust cases against it in other countries.
In a post to its website on Monday, cellular industry pioneer Qualcomm claims it helped Android roll out a number of industry firsts, like edge-to-edge OLED displays, augmented reality and facial recognition, many of which are expected to debut as tentpole features of Apple's upcoming iPhone X.
Apple's 11 international lawsuits against Qualcomm — in places like China, Japan, and the UK — can go on while an original U.S. case is underway, a U.S. federal judge ruled this week.
In a move likely to aid Apple, a South Korean court has turned down a Qualcomm motion to suspend a December order by the Korea Fair Trade Commission, which leveled a $912.34 million fine against the chipmaker and directed it to fix how it handles patent licensing and chip sales.
Lawyers squared off in a San Diego federal court last Friday in an initial hearing of Apple's lawsuit against Qualcomm, with the latter standing accused of antitrust violations and breach of contract.
A new analyst report claims that Apple holds up to a two year lead on rival Qualcomm, when it comes to software and hardware development of accurate 3D sensing systems — and no Android product developer seems that willing to host the technology in the foreseeable future.
The U.S. International Trade Commission on Tuesday agreed to look into Qualcomm allegations that the iPhone 7 — and other Apple devices — violate its patents, a small part of a wider legal battle between the two companies.
Qualcomm on Monday responded to a letter filed in opposition to a bid to bar import of Apple iPhone models not using its modem chips, accusing a tech lobbying group of conducting a "coordinated effort aimed at misdirecting" trade regulators.
Supplementing Intel's presence in a trade group in a previous filing, the company has filed its own declaration with the U.S. International Trade Commission in support of Apple in its fight against Qualcomm's wireless technology licensing practices for the iPhone 7, and future devices.
A lobbying group representing big tech industry players like Google and Intel sided with Apple in a filing delivered to the U.S. International Trade Commission, saying Qualcomm's bid to ban iPhone imports would hurt consumers.
Qualcomm on Wednesday escalated its patent infringement fight against Apple with the filing of two separate German cases in Mannheim and Munich, where it seeks to block the import and sale of all iPhones.
Four of Apple's manufacturing partners — Hon Hai/Foxconn, Compal, Wistron, and Pegatron — have filed counterclaims against Qualcomm, accusing the chipmaker of violating two sections of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf in an interview on Monday provided additional background on the company's ongoing legal battle with Apple, saying he believes intellectual property pricing and contract obligations are its core. He seemed optimistic, however, that the fight will end in an out of court settlement.
Stock analysts are starting to chime in on the Apple and Qualcomm fight, with the fight will take at least another year with little impact on Apple's bottom line.
As its legal fight with Apple intensifies, Qualcomm on Thursday said it plans to file a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking an import and sales ban on iPhone and iPad models that allegedly infringe on six patents.
Qualcomm and smartphone vendor Oppo have demonstrated a prototype of a fingerprint sensor that works under common materials used for smartphones, like displays, glass, and aluminum that will see use in consumer devices in the summer of 2018.
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Mike Wuerthele
Roger Fingas
Daniel Eran Dilger
Mikey Campbell
