Apple infringes Qualcomm patent, ITC spares ban on iPhone

In its latest filing the US International Trade Commission (ITC) said that Apple might have infringed a Qualcomm patent but it doesn't qualify for a ban on the sale of iPhones.

The Administrative Law Judge Thomas Pender said that Apple did infringe one patent related to power management, but not on two other patents, Cnet reported. The case will now go next to the full ITC commission. Apple and Qualcomm have been embroiled in the patent battle since 2017 when Apple filed a lawsuit of about USD 1 billion over unfair licensing by Qualcomm for its technology.

The chipmaker, on the other hand, has argued that Apple has been infringing on its technology and that it will continue to fight over 40 such cases against the iPhone maker. 

Qualcomm escalated a legal war with Apple, accusing the iPhone maker of stealing secrets and sharing them with mobile chip rival Intel, according to court documents. The California mobile chipmaker on Monday added the sizzling accusation in an amendment to a lawsuit filed against Apple last year in California state court in Qualcomm's home city of San Diego.

The modified filing contends that Apple "engaged in a years-long campaign of false promises, stealth, and subterfuge designed to steal Qualcomm's confidential information and trade secrets" in order to help Intel and other rivals field competing mobile chips, Apple's goal was to buy mobile chips from Intel instead of depending on Qualcomm, the dominant maker of mobile phone processors, the court document claimed.

Qualcomm general counsel Don Rosenberg said in response to an AFP inquiry that the latest filing showed that "Apple has flouted its contractual commitments and misappropriated Qualcomm's property rights in an effort to improve its performance and increase its profits." In response to a request for comment, Apple directed AFP to a comment the Silicon Valley company made in June of last year regarding its clash with Qualcomm.

With inputs from ANI