The Qualcomm and Apple war has been ongoing for some time now with both sides not backing down an inch. Today, Qualcomm finally scores a win thanks to a ruling that will ban the iPhone 6S through the iPhone X from being imported into China. A Chinese court found that Apple violated two of Qualcomm’s patents which prompted the ruling against Apple. The ruling came from the Fuzhou Intermediate People’s Court in China and the suit was filed in 2017.
The two patents that Apple violated were software patents that resized photographs and managed touch screen applications. Reuters reports that the patents that were violated were software based. This means that Apple could potentially make changes to that software and still be able to import the banned phones again.
“Apple continues to benefit from our intellectual property while refusing to compensate us,” Don Rosenberg, general counsel of Qualcomm, said in a statement.
The patents in the suit, which Qualcomm said on Monday had been upheld by the Chinese patent office, are separate from those being contested in other cases in its wide-ranging legal dispute with Apple. Qualcomm has also asked regulators in the United States to ban the importation of several iPhone models over patent concerns, but U.S. officials have so far declined to do so.
The battle is likely far from over and Apple will probably counter with some legal move. For now, the Qualcomm team is celebrating a win and hopes to have more to come. The import ban affects the following devices:
- iPhone6S
- iPhone 6S Plus
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone X
The new iPhone XS, XS Max and iPhone XR are not affected.
What do you think of this “win” for Qualcomm and the ongoing legal battle? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
