14 DAY TRIAL // Qualcomm is now trying to expand the ban against a series of iPhone models in China to cover the 2018 generation as well, including iPhone XS and iPhone XR.
Qualcomm General Counsel Don Rosenberg said in an interview with Bloomberg that the only reason these models weren’t affected by the court order is that they weren’t on the market at the time of the complaint, suggesting that just like the other iPhones, they also violate the company’s software patents.
“It affects older iPhones. It affects the iPhone 6s right through the X, and the only reason it doesn’t apply at the moment to the later devices is because when we brought the suit they didn’t exist,” Rosenberg says.
“The new models will be coming very soon. We are already in the process of seeking an order covering the new models as well.”
A Chinese court issued a ban against iPhones for infringing on Qualcomm software patents. While the court order did not include any mention of a specific iPhone model or iOS version, Apple said it would address the claims with an iOS software update, which was eventually published on Monday.
iPhones still available in China
All iPhone models are still available for purchase in China, and Qualcomm says the Cupertino-based company should take the court order seriously.
“It should’ve been taken a bite and it should take a bite of Apple sales right now in China. The order requires them to stop selling, stop offering for sale, and stop importing any devices between these model numbers I suggested,” the Qualcomm official continued.
Apple has already appealed the court order, but the company keeps selling iPhones in China. This is a violation of the injunction, Qualcomm claims, yet Apple says that the software update it rolled out this week already resolve the alleged patent violation. No specifics were shared, but for now, iPhones aren’t going anywhere, it seems.