Following the long and harsh fight in court between Apple and Qualcomm,
the Fuzhou Intermediate People’s Court in China court ruled in favor of
Qualcomm. This decision is regarding two patent infringement claims by
Qualcomm, a US chipmaker. The decision has successfully prohibited
all importation and sales of iPhone smartphones such as the iPhone 6S,
6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus and X in China. As you probably are aware, this decision is a big blow to Apple since China is the world’s biggest phone market.Anyway
Apple has promised to appeal the judgment. The relationship between the
two organizations has damaged beyond repair as both tech mammoths are
at loggerheads over licensing rates Qualcomm and other wireless
intellectual property (IP) holders charge smartphone OEMs for use of
their standard essential patents (SEPs).
This implies Apple
infringed two Qualcomm licenses identified with resizing photographs and
arranging applications. General counsel for Qualcomm Don Rosenberg told
Reuters in an announcement “Apple continues to benefit from our
intellectual property while refusing to compensate us.”
However, reacting to the judgement, Apple says
“Qualcomm’s effort
to ban our products is another desperate move by a company whose
illegal practices are under investigation by regulators around the
world,” Apple said in a statement to CNBC. “All iPhone models remain
available for our customers in China. Qualcomm is asserting three
patents they had never raised before, including one which has already
been invalidated. We will pursue all our legal options through the
courts.”
How Qualcomm is also fighting to block the sales of the
iPhone 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus and X in the United States and a
final judgement is expected in January next year.
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