Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
Apple Countersues Qualcomm for Patent Infringement Related to Snapdragon Chips
In the ongoing legal feud between Apple and LTE chipmaker Qualcomm, Reuters reports today that Apple has made the latest move by filing a countersuit against Qualcomm and claiming that the supplier's Snapdragon chips -- used in many Android devices -- infringe on the Cupertino company's patents.
The countersuit is Apple's retaliation against Qualcomm after the latter company sought iPhone and iPad import bans in the United States over the summer. At the time, Qualcomm alleged that Apple infringed on six Qualcomm patents related to carrier aggregation and technologies that were designed to allow iPhones to save battery life while communicating. Apple denied any of these claims and said that Qualcomm's patents were "invalid."
Apple's new countersuit further revises its answer to Qualcomm's complaint from July by adding on the accusation of patent infringement surrounding the Snapdragon chips. The filing alleges that Apple owns "at least" eight battery life patents Qualcomm has violated, related to making sure that each part of the phone's processor draws only minimum power needed to function, powering down parts of the processor when not needed, and ensuring that sleep and wake functions work better for the user.
Apple specifically says that Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 and 820 processors -- included in Samsung and Google smartphones -- infringe on these patents, but Apple has only named Qualcomm in its counter lawsuit. The specific monetary damages Apple is looking for were not disclosed.
Over the summer, Qualcomm began facing an additional lawsuit from the United States Federal Trade Commission, happening separately from the dispute with Apple but covering many of the same anticompetitive tactics that Apple claims in its own lawsuit.
The countersuit is Apple's retaliation against Qualcomm after the latter company sought iPhone and iPad import bans in the United States over the summer. At the time, Qualcomm alleged that Apple infringed on six Qualcomm patents related to carrier aggregation and technologies that were designed to allow iPhones to save battery life while communicating. Apple denied any of these claims and said that Qualcomm's patents were "invalid."
Apple's new countersuit further revises its answer to Qualcomm's complaint from July by adding on the accusation of patent infringement surrounding the Snapdragon chips. The filing alleges that Apple owns "at least" eight battery life patents Qualcomm has violated, related to making sure that each part of the phone's processor draws only minimum power needed to function, powering down parts of the processor when not needed, and ensuring that sleep and wake functions work better for the user.
Apple specifically says that Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 and 820 processors -- included in Samsung and Google smartphones -- infringe on these patents, but Apple has only named Qualcomm in its counter lawsuit. The specific monetary damages Apple is looking for were not disclosed.
Apple Inc on Thursday filed a countersuit against Qualcomm Inc, alleging that Qualcomm’s Snapdragon mobile phone chips that power a wide variety of Android-based devices infringe on Apple’s patents, the latest development in a long-running dispute.2017 has seen rebuttal after rebuttal in the Apple versus Qualcomm legal battle, kicking off in January when the FTC complained that Qualcomm had engaged in anticompetitive patent licensing practices. Soon after, Apple sued Qualcomm for $1 billion, accusing the company of charging unfair royalties for "technologies they have nothing to do with" and refusing to pay quarterly rebates. A Qualcomm countersuit followed in April, and the dispute escalated throughout the year with expanded lawsuits and claims lodged by each side.
“Apple began seeking those patents years before Qualcomm began seeking the patents it asserts against Apple in this case,” the company wrote in its complaint.
Over the summer, Qualcomm began facing an additional lawsuit from the United States Federal Trade Commission, happening separately from the dispute with Apple but covering many of the same anticompetitive tactics that Apple claims in its own lawsuit.
[ 111 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
21 months ago
Apple the King of patent trolls strikes again, hopefully justice will prevail in favor of Qualcomm.
"patent troll"
You use that phrase, but I'm not sure you know what it means.
21 months ago
Oh I know what it means
Sure about that?
patent troll
noun
informal, derogatory
[LIST=1]
* a company that obtains the rights to one or more patents in order to profit by means of licensing or litigation, rather than by producing its own goods or services.
21 months ago
Apple the King of patent trolls strikes again, hopefully justice will prevail in favor of Qualcomm.
Oh brother :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
21 months ago
Oh I know what it means, I'm just not blinded with unwavering and.absolute loyalty to a brand like most people here who screech patent troll every time someone sues Apple while defending every lawsuit Apple starts.
By definition Apple can’t be a patent troll, as they sell products that use their patents.
21 months ago
Apple the King of patent trolls strikes again, hopefully justice will prevail in favor of Qualcomm.
LOL. This dude has no idea.
21 months ago
Just goes to show how nitty-gritty companies can be with the patent system. No doubt this is Apple being deliberately obtuse and petulant in response to Qualcomm's original lawsuit (which was flaky at best), serving to highlight that they're happy to be equally petty if push comes to shove.
Well at least it's entertaining.
Well at least it's entertaining.
21 months ago
Apple is trolling over patents that should never have been issued and abusing those patents once again to stifle competition.
You've just described the patent system, not patent trolls.
21 months ago
Apple the King of patent trolls strikes again, hopefully justice will prevail in favor of Qualcomm.
[MEDIA=youtube]W8qcccZy03s[/MEDIA]
21 months ago
Man, we should've been lawyers.
Actually, never mind. When I was living there, I had several high powered lawyer friends in NYC who all said they hated their jobs. They had become lawyers thinking they were going to change the world and help people find justice, but instead spent all their time fighting for huge corporations and filling out billing forms to make their firm money.
Actually, never mind. When I was living there, I had several high powered lawyer friends in NYC who all said they hated their jobs. They had become lawyers thinking they were going to change the world and help people find justice, but instead spent all their time fighting for huge corporations and filling out billing forms to make their firm money.
[ Read All Comments ]
After a busy few weeks of news and rumors, things slowed down a little bit this week, but there were still some major stories worth highlighting. Those include our first hands-on look at dummy models...
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Reolink to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an Argus 2 wire-free rechargeable home camera and a solar panel for charging it up outdoors.
...
Apple Music has renamed its "The A-List: Hip-Hop" playlist to "Rap Life."
Ebro Darden, global editorial head of hip-hop and R&B at Apple Music, will host a companion...
Samsung is believed to be Apple's exclusive supplier of OLED displays for iPhones, but it may have company soon.
In a research note shared with MacRumors, Barclays analysts said fellow...
1Password has restored the option for customers who originally purchased its iOS app to create a local vault during setup, after users queued up online to voice their frustrations with the fact that...
Apple is planning to open an office in highly desired location in Vancouver, Canada reports Bloomberg. The company has leased space in a 24-story office building at 400 West Georgia owned by...
Elevation Lab, known for its line of popular iPhone charging docks, today released the FamilyCharger, a multi-charging setup designed to allow you to charge all of your devices in one place.
The...
Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS Catalina update to its public beta testing group, two weeks after seeding the second public beta and a day after seeding the fourth developer...
