Apple CEO Tim Cook will be heading to San Diego next month to testify in the Apple v. Qualcomm trial that will see Apple challenging Qualcomm's patent licensing practices, reports Bloomberg.

Along with Cook, Qualcomm CEO Steven Mollenkopf will testify, and other Apple witnesses could include former head of Apple hardware Bob Mansfield, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller, and former general counsel Bruce Sewell.

qualcomm iphone 7
Cook will testify on Apple's business strategy, financial performance, and agreements with other tech companies.

Executives from Foxconn and Samsung are also expected to make an appearance at the trial, as Qualcomm will be attempting to recoup royalty payments from Apple suppliers that stopped paying royalties on Qualcomm patents back in 2017.

The April trial pertains to the first lawsuit that Apple filed against Qualcomm back in January 2017 over Qualcomm's failure to pay royalty rebates. Apple has accused Qualcomm of charging unfair royalties for "technologies they have nothing to do with" and using exclusionary tactics and high patent licensing fees to remain the dominant baseband chip supplier. The trial is set to kick off on April 15.

Top Rated Comments

martyjmclean Avatar
79 months ago
"Qualcomm are wrong, and I think you're going to love it".
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Andronicus Avatar
79 months ago
"Qualcomm are wrong, and I think you're going to love it".
“Up to 10x more wrong than before! This is the wrongest Qualcomm we’ve ever had.”
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PickUrPoison Avatar
79 months ago
Unfair doesnt mean illegal. If Tim signed a unfair contract, that is his fault. Quit whining and get back to innovating.
1) Illegal isn’t relevant. Qualcomm agreed to license their standards essential patents at fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) rates. Apple contends they violated this obligation.

2) The previous license agreement had expired, and I believe Apple had already paid what they owed under that agreement. It was Qualcomm who whined that Apple broke a separate rebate agreement (by cooperating with investigations into QC’s potentially illegal business practices) and QC who started withholding the rebate payments from Apple. That’s when Apple instructed their suppliers to begin withholding license fees due to Qualcomm, as a way of recouping the rebate money they believed QC had no right to hold back. A recent court decision found in Apple’s favor, holding that Apple had not violated the rebate agreement.

3) Apple and QC were never able to come to terms on a subsequent license agreement, with Apple claiming Qualcomm won’t agree to FRAND terms as they are obligated to do, and if I understand correctly, also arguing various antitrust violations/anti-competitive behaviors. Apple does owe license fees to QC, but exactly what those fees should be is in dispute. iirc there is an issue of enforceability of certain QC license agreement terms related to QC’s “double-dipping” but I don’t know if that’s at issue in this April 15 trial.

That’s my understanding, anyway.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macfacts Avatar
79 months ago
Apple has accused Qualcomm of charging unfair royalties for "technologies they have nothing to do with"
Unfair doesnt mean illegal. If Tim signed a unfair contract, that is his fault. Quit whining and get back to innovating.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pat500000 Avatar
79 months ago
“It’s not fair.....waaaah waah” tim apple. Deal with it.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
omihek Avatar
79 months ago
Say what? Qualcomm has lost numerous antitrust lawsuits all over the world and paid billions in fines. In fact, I don’t think they’ve won a single case yet.

Not sure what evidence you have to say it’s not looking good for Apple.
They've been blocked from sale in two countries and now even the U.S. court is saying they infringed.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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