Chinese court says iPhones infringe on Qualcomm patents

Dec 14, 2018 10:50 GMT  ·  By

Apple warns that banning iPhones in China could have serious consequences for both the company and the local economy, with the Cupertino-based tech giant reminding that it created 5 million jobs locally.

A Chinese court earlier this week banned a series of iPhones after ruling that they violate two Qualcomm software patents, and after filing an appeal, Apple has also published a request for consideration to warn of the effects such a restriction would have.

First and foremost, Apple says banning iPhones would basically force it to settle with Qualcomm, and this would cause not only a major financial hit for the Cupertino-based giant, but also for other companies that would have to pay more for licensing.

“Apple will be forced to settle with the Respondent, causing all mobile phone manufacturers to relapse into the previous unreasonable charging mode and pay high licensing fees, resulting in unrecoverable losses in the downstream market of mobile phones,” Apple was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

Apple sold 50 million iPhones last year in China

Apple goes on to emphasize that a ban would cost it millions of dollars a day, and the decision would also impact the Chinese government and consumers

“Apple and many other companies, consumers, and government will suffer truly irreparable harm,” it says.

The company also reminds that it created 5 million jobs in the country, and banning the device may have an impact on the supply chain and third-party software developers whose products would no longer generate revenue.

Tax losses would also be caused to the government, Apple says, as it pays millions in fees for the devices it sells in the country. More than 50 million iPhones were sold here in 2017, the company explains.

In the meantime, all iPhone models can still be purchased in China, and Apple promised an iOS update that would address the privacy violations. The update will be shipped to devices in China next week.