Apple Claims Its Former Engineer Helped Invent Tech in Qualcomm Patent

Apple and Qualcomm have been squaring off in courts around the world, and this week, the first U.S. jury trial kicked off in San Diego, California, where Qualcomm's headquarters are located.

During today's legal proceedings, which were covered by CNET, Apple claimed that one of its former engineers, Arjuna Siva, had a hand in inventing the technologies covered in one of the patents that Qualcomm is accusing Apple of infringing on.

qualcomm iphone 7
The patent in question covers a method that allows a smartphone to quickly connect to the internet once the device boots up. According to Apple, Siva came up with the concept for the patent and should be named on it.

Siva was an Apple employee prior to 2011, which was the year Apple released the first iPhone that used a Qualcomm chip. Prior to the release of that device, Apple and Qualcomm worked together for modem chips that would meet Apple's needs. Siva was involved in those discussions and proposed the technology that Qualcomm went on to patent.

Apple claims that while the two companies were in discussions, then-Apple engineer Arjuna Siva came up with the idea that Qualcomm would later patent. Siva, who now works at Google, will testify later in the trial.

"Does Qualcomm believe in giving credit where credit is due?" Apple's counsel, Joseph Mueller of Wilmer Hale, asked Monday.

Qualcomm director of engineering Stephen Haenichen said that Siva did not deserve to have his name on the patent and contributed "nothing at all" to the development of the feature, despite Apple's argument.

According to CNET, Apple's aim with the Siva argument is to prove that Qualcomm is hasty and careless when filing its patents. Qualcomm pays $1,500 to employees for filing a patent and another $1,500 when the patent is issued, which is another point Apple brought up to demonstrate Qualcomm's treatment of patents. Siva will testify later in the week to provide more detail on his role working with Qualcomm back before the first ‌iPhone‌ with a Qualcomm modem was released.

The current trial between Apple and Qualcomm will last through next week and we'll likely see additional interesting tidbits and arguments revealed as the legal battle goes on and the jury tries to decide if Apple is indeed guilty of infringing on Qualcomm technology.

Apple and Qualcomm have been fighting since January 2017, when Apple sued Qualcomm for $1 billion in unpaid royalty fees. Qualcomm countersued, and since then, the two companies have levied multiple lawsuits against one another. Two of Qualcomm's lawsuits have resulted in import bans in Germany and China, both of which Apple was able to skirt with hardware and software updates.

Popular Stories

apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

iPhone Driver's Licenses: These 17 U.S. States Offer Them or Will Later

Thursday June 19, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Wednesday June 18, 2025 10:24 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a few days after Apple provided the betas to developers. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. When the...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Apple Says iOS 26 Won't Be Available on These iPhone Models

Tuesday June 10, 2025 6:58 am PDT by
Apple this week revealed that iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer. That means that iOS 18 is the end of the road for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, which were all released in 2018. However, those devices will continue to receive security updates for at least a few more years. iOS 26 is compatible with the following iPhone models: iPhone 16e iPhone...
new iphone lockscreen ios 26

iOS 26: Five Changes Coming to Your iPhone Lock Screen

Tuesday June 17, 2025 8:46 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has made some additions to the iPhone Lock Screen that aim to make it more customizable than ever. Of course, things can always change before the software makes its way to the general iPhone-owning public, but here are five new things iOS 26 can do on the Lock Screen as of the current developer beta. Widgets Top or Bottom In iOS 18, the row of widgets on your Lock...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
Craig Federighi No

John Gruber Reacts to Apple Declining His Interview After His Criticism

Wednesday June 18, 2025 8:10 pm PDT by
Every year between 2015 and 2024, at least one Apple executive agreed to be interviewed by Daring Fireball's John Gruber for a special WWDC episode of his podcast, The Talk Show. Last year, for example, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi, marketing chief Greg Joswiak, and top AI researcher John Giannandrea joined Gruber on stage at the California Theatre in San Jose to discuss...

Top Rated Comments

BornAgainApple Avatar
82 months ago
They just realized this?
Oh, I bet Apple has had this tucked away for some time now, just waiting for the right moment to use it.

Edited for spelling.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Khedron Avatar
82 months ago
His name should have been on the patent? Meaning it isn't. Meaning Apple's point is worthless.

I like Apple's approach of arguing patents should be fair though, since they have plenty of joke patents themselves. They just got one for saying that warming something up helps prevent damage due to low temperatures... in a mobile device.
[doublepost=1551836584][/doublepost]
This seems pretty thin. Either he’s on the patent or he isn’t.

Qualcomm can use the “He who snoozes loses” defense.
I believe it's called "argument ad shoulda woulda coulda"
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ike1707 Avatar
82 months ago
Now there is an interesting twist..
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mattyj2001 Avatar
82 months ago
Qualcomm is known to take a carpet-bombing approach to patents. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a settlement of those unpaid royalties at the end of this, which will probably come abruptly, prior to jury deliberation.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
82 months ago
Are you sure that's still current? My understanding is under the current rules, it does not matter if you invented it, the person who files first get it.
Yes first to file, but only if you didn’t get the invention from someone else. First to file only applies to recently filed patents, of course. But even when using first to file rules, you have to be an inventor and all inventors must be named. If you are not the inventor (because, for example, you stole the idea), you are not entitled to the patent.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
82 months ago
Supposedly there is some sort of email documentation of this.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)