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German Court Issues Sales Ban on Select iPhones Violating Qualcomm Patent, Apple Plans to Appeal [Updated]
A court in Germany today ruled that some iPhone models equipped with Intel modems infringe on a Qualcomm hardware patent, and issued a preliminary injunction on those devices, according to Reuters and CNBC. However, the reports claim the ruling will not go into immediate effect if Apple appeals, and it almost certainly will.
Matthias Zigann, the judge presiding over the case, ruled that iPhones that contain a combination of chips from Intel and Apple supplier Qorvo violated one of Qualcomm's patents around so-called "envelope tracking," a feature that helps preserve battery life when sending and receiving wireless signals.
The preliminary injunction would prevent affected iPhones, excluding the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, from being sold in Germany.
Last week, a Chinese court also issued a preliminary injunction on the iPhone 6s through iPhone X after the court found those devices violated two separate Qualcomm patents related to app management and photo editing. Apple continues to sell those iPhone models in China, though, despite the ruling.
Apple said it believes it is in compliance with the Chinese court order, but it later released iOS 12.1.2 with minor changes to address the Qualcomm patents, including a new animation for force closing apps and tweaked settings for contact and wallpaper images. The changes were only made in China.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Qualcomm's chief lawyer Don Rosenberg said that Apple continues to "flout the legal system" by violating the preliminary injunction in China and by releasing misleading statements about the ruling.
Apple called Qualcomm's efforts in China "another desperate move by a company whose illegal practices are under investigation by regulators around the world," and said that "Apple and many other companies, consumers, and government will suffer truly irreparable harm" if the sales ban were to be upheld.
The litigation in Germany and China is part of a larger legal battle between Apple and Qualcomm. Last year, Apple accused Qualcomm of anticompetitive business practices related to licensing fees, while Qualcomm has accused Apple of sharing its trade secrets with Intel, its new modem supplier in iPhones.
In the U.S., the FTC filed a complaint against Qualcomm over its business practices last year. The case is set to go to trial in California next month.
Update: Apple has confirmed that it plans to appeal the ruling. In the meantime, it is pulling iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models from its shelves at its retail stores in Germany, but not resellers or carriers.
Matthias Zigann, the judge presiding over the case, ruled that iPhones that contain a combination of chips from Intel and Apple supplier Qorvo violated one of Qualcomm's patents around so-called "envelope tracking," a feature that helps preserve battery life when sending and receiving wireless signals.
The preliminary injunction would prevent affected iPhones, excluding the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, from being sold in Germany.
Last week, a Chinese court also issued a preliminary injunction on the iPhone 6s through iPhone X after the court found those devices violated two separate Qualcomm patents related to app management and photo editing. Apple continues to sell those iPhone models in China, though, despite the ruling.
Apple said it believes it is in compliance with the Chinese court order, but it later released iOS 12.1.2 with minor changes to address the Qualcomm patents, including a new animation for force closing apps and tweaked settings for contact and wallpaper images. The changes were only made in China.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Qualcomm's chief lawyer Don Rosenberg said that Apple continues to "flout the legal system" by violating the preliminary injunction in China and by releasing misleading statements about the ruling.
Apple called Qualcomm's efforts in China "another desperate move by a company whose illegal practices are under investigation by regulators around the world," and said that "Apple and many other companies, consumers, and government will suffer truly irreparable harm" if the sales ban were to be upheld.
The litigation in Germany and China is part of a larger legal battle between Apple and Qualcomm. Last year, Apple accused Qualcomm of anticompetitive business practices related to licensing fees, while Qualcomm has accused Apple of sharing its trade secrets with Intel, its new modem supplier in iPhones.
In the U.S., the FTC filed a complaint against Qualcomm over its business practices last year. The case is set to go to trial in California next month.
Update: Apple has confirmed that it plans to appeal the ruling. In the meantime, it is pulling iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models from its shelves at its retail stores in Germany, but not resellers or carriers.
[ 66 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
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10 months ago
Multiple courts are siding with Qualcomm. Perhaps Apple is actually in the wrong.
Excited to read how some will spin this to defend Apple...
Excited to read how some will spin this to defend Apple...
10 months ago
Multiple courts are siding with Qualcomm. Perhaps Apple is actually in the wrong.
Excited to read how some will spin this to defend Apple...
10 months ago
Perhaps Apple is actually in the wrong.
That comment may send 75% of macrumors to their safe room’s.
I bet you already have a contract out on you.
10 months ago
QCOM is going to lose pretty much everything against Apple. They already are...
Apple basically tells them to F off and QCOM can only make desperate moves like suing with zero impact. You think sales were actually interrupted in China or that this ban in Germany will even be enforced.
Qualcomm is a patent troll.
Talking about patent troll? Rounded corners, slide to unlock? Hello?
10 months ago
I hear what you are saying, but if Apple have to pay more to Qualcomm you can be sure that the cost will filter down to the consumer.
True but also see it from Qualcomm's point of view, Qualcomm is seeing how Apple is bathing in gold, reaching 1 trillion status, all because of the 60% revenue from iPhones which use Qualcomm tech. Apple disgustingly milked the userbase for almost 6-7 years with 16gb iPhones making users spend more money on unfair storage upgrades. If Apple can be a fat pig, why can't Qualcomm?
10 months ago
One persons desperate is another persons doing things by the book. If you had intelectual property and a company started copying it and didn't credit you, would you just accept it? Oh, and that company that's infringing just happens to owe you a **** load of money...
Apple never sued anyone! ;)
10 months ago
Multiple courts are siding with Qualcomm. Perhaps Apple is actually in the wrong.
Excited to read how some will spin this to defend Apple...
Come on now... that last comment is a bit unfair.
Sure, you can point out that a couple courts sided with them. If you were fair you woukd also acknowledge that others did not. And more pertinent, you would acknowledge that in the US, the FTC doesn't think highly of Qualcomm's business practices... as referenced in this article.
Or are you gonna suggest that the FTC are just fanboys defending Apple so they don't count..?
10 months ago
Qualcomm is a patent troll.
Unless Qualcomm intends to disperse of its engineering staff and majority of its product line-up, that's a pretty tough case to make.
Suing over patents does not a troll make.
10 months ago
Hey Apple so you don't like paying Qualcomm extravagant fees? Maybe you should stop milking your own userbase, what goes around comes around.
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