Apple Challenges Four Qualcomm Patents in Ongoing Legal Battle

Apple today filed petitions with the United States Patent and Trademark Office challenging the validity of four Qualcomm patents amid an increasingly vicious legal battle, reports Bloomberg. Apple is aiming to get the USPTO to cancel the four Qualcomm patents, arguing that they do not cover new ideas.

The patents in question cover camera autofocusing, a device that functions as a phone and a digital assistant, touch-sensitive displays, and circuit memory.

qualcomm iphone 7
Challenging patent validity is one of Apple's typical strategies in its legal battles. According to Bloomberg, Apple has filed a total of 398 such petitions with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

For the Qualcomm filing, a trio of judges will consider the petition along with responses from Qualcomm, and will issue a preliminary decision on whether Apple's argument has merit. If Apple has a chance of getting the patents declared invalid, the USPTO will conduct a formal review before issuing a final judgement on the matter.

Apple and Qualcomm have been embroiled in a legal battle since the beginning of 2017, with the dispute centered on how much Apple should have to pay Qualcomm in royalties. Apple claims Qualcomm has been charging unfair royalties for "technologies [it] has nothing to do with," while Qualcomm claims its technology "is at the heart of every iPhone." Apple has used Qualcomm LTE chips in its devices for years, but has been moving away from Qualcomm's technology due to the legal fight.

Both Apple and Qualcomm have filed multiple lawsuits against one another, with Qualcomm also seeking import and export bans on some iPhones in the United States and China.

Apple iTunes chief Eddy Cue and Apple CEO Tim Cook will testify on June 27 as part of Qualcomm's initial lawsuit against Apple, which accuses the Cupertino company of lying to regulators to cause trouble for Qualcomm in multiple countries.

Last week, the United States International Trade Commission began investigating whether Apple infringed on three Qualcomm patents related to power management, radio voltage, and graphics processing. A pre-trial report from the ITC's lawyers suggested Apple infringed on the power management patent, but not the other two patents. A ruling on the ITC case, which has the potential to lead to an iPhone import ban, is expected in September.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Here's Which Vehicles Offer iPhone Car Keys

Sunday July 6, 2025 3:03 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. Apple has a web page with a list of vehicle models that ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iphone 17 pro render majin bu

New iPhone 17 Pro Renders Highlight Apple Logo and MagSafe Design Changes

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:43 pm PDT by
New renders today provide the best look yet relocated Apple logo and redesigned MagSafe magnet array of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Image via Majin Bu. Several of the design changes coming to the iPhone 17 Pro model have been rumored for some time, such as the elongated camera bump that spans the full width of the device, with the LiDAR Scanner and flash moving to the right side. ...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 17 Models Rumored to Feature Redesigned Dynamic Island

Monday July 7, 2025 7:38 am PDT by
iPhone 17 models will feature a redesigned Dynamic Island user interface, according to a post today from Digital Chat Station, an account with more than three million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The account has accurately leaked some information regarding future Apple products in the past. The account did not share any specific details about the alleged changes that are ...

Top Rated Comments

Doctor Q Avatar
92 months ago
Suppose Apple is working on a new product feature, and they find that a relevant patents exist.

They could (a) pay for a license, (b) challenge the patent's validity, (c) ignore the patent, then pay for a license if the patent holder files for infringement, or (d) ignore the patent, then fight it in court if the patent holder files for infringement.

Which do they tend to do? What does it depend on?

We hear about these cases when they reach court, but I'm curious what happens before that.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Naraxus Avatar
92 months ago
Apple has a whole lot of nerve
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macbeta Avatar
92 months ago
This is what happens when endless amounts of things that should never have been allowed to be patented, get filed away. They will settle, I wish they wouldn't though, more battles need to actually go to court so sort out some of these weak and frankly stupid patents.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Doctor Q Avatar
92 months ago
Is this...
If they know about the patent and that they infringe and ignore it, they could have to pay triple damages.
the reason for this?...
Engineers don’t go checking to see if everything they are doing is patented.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
shplock Avatar
92 months ago
And here’s the German courts rejecting some of Apples cases too:

http://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSTRE8210JN20120302 ('https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSTRE8210JN20120302')

Apple was even forced by the courts in the U.K. to print a public apology in the press for the way it behaved over its obsession with Samsung, which Apple took as a joke at first to which the courts did not and told Apple to do it again or find themselves in contempt of court or something to that effect:

http://globalnews.ca/news/304304/uk-judges-tell-apple-to-apologize-to-samsung-again-after-original-apology-falls-short/ ('https://globalnews.ca/news/304304/uk-judges-tell-apple-to-apologize-to-samsung-again-after-original-apology-falls-short/')

That’s how peed off the worlds court got with them, but mainly Apple as it tried to ban Samsung from the planet, for no other reason then blocking the competition.
Firstly you do then admit that you were wrong? You said that it was only the US where Scamsung, sorry I mean Samdung..I mean Samsung were being sued.
They were sued in many many countries. So your point about Apple being turned down in some countries means nothing.
next Apple were not trying to ban the competition because there is NO competition. Apple makes over 90% of worldwide smartphone profits. This with Samsung selling phones in many countries.
Also it was proven, pROVEN that Samsung DID copy the iPhone in many ways.
Samsung's own lawyer got confused and mistook the iPhone for a Samsung phone!
PLus internal Samsung documents were shown that were entitled how best to copy the iPhone.

Does this make Apple innocent in all things? Nope of course not but please do not bring your Apple hatred to a topic where Samsung are clearly wrong and clearly guilty! (regarding your point). Plus in relation to Qualcomm we do not know the outcome of the case yet so we will see.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
92 months ago
Is this...

the reason for this?...
Yes. There is seldom any benefit to looking ahead of time to see if there are patents. Even if you think there are none that are relevant, someone sill sue you anyway. And now you have knowledge of the patent. Unless you get a formal legal opinion for each potentially relevant patent. Then you might be able to rely on good faith. But opinions are very expensive and there could be many potentially relevant patents.
[doublepost=1529623248][/doublepost]
Most patent cases are filed with the 5th circuit court.... I wonder if that's where they are trying this case....
I think you mean EDTex (which is part of the fifth circuit). But it’s not true that most cases are filed there. Just most troll cases, and the number has fallen a lot due to recent Supreme Court decisions.

I believe most of the Qualcomm Apple dispute is being tried in California, which is ninth circuit.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)