14 DAY TRIAL // Qualcomm and Apple are in the middle of a patent licensing dispute and it seems that the chipmaker has just made its next move. Qualcomm has requested a court order to force Apple’s suppliers of components to make royalty payments during the legal process.
Qualcomm’s general counsel stated for Axios, “We are confident that our contracts will be found valid and enforceable but in the interim it is only fair and equitable that our licensees pay for the property they are using.”
“Apple has made clear that it will continue to embargo all Qualcomm royalties, for all Apple products, for the indefinite future. By withholding billions of dollars in royalties so long as Qualcomm defends itself against Apple’s claims, Apple is hoping to make litigation unbearable for Qualcomm and, thereby, to extract through a forced settlement what it knows it cannot obtain through judicial process - a below-market direct license,” the court filling reads.
Qualcomm had requested a ban on US imports of iPhones
Back in January this year, Apple filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm, accusing the chipmaker of unfair licensing terms and saying that the company withheld almost $1 billion in rebates. Last month, Qualcomm stated that some contract manufacturers use Qualcomm IP to build components for Apple products and have stopped paying royalties.
Apple claims that Qualcomm’s business strategy is monopolistic and the company charges high royalty rates on standard-essential patents, as well as restricts sales to certain buyers. The same accusations against Qualcomm were made by the US Federal Trade Commission in an antitrust lawsuit filed in January. Samsung and Intel announced their support for the FTC in the case. Samsung is directly affected in the matter, as it has previously been reported that Qualcomm blocks the Korean company from selling its Exynos chips to Qualcomm’s competitors.
In its defense, Qualcomm said that Apple interfered with contract manufacturers and filed a countersuit against Apple this April. Qualcomm says that Apple is in breach of contract and has wrongfully caused regulatory action against the chipmaker. Qualcomm quoted 35 defenses against Apple and stated that Apple wasn’t affected by the chipmaker’s alleged antitrust practices. Earlier this month, Qualcomm sought a ban on US imports of iPhones, in a move meant to cause serious financial issues for the Cupertino-based company.