According to the verge, a US technology news website, on March 26, apple and Qualcomm recently launched a chaotic legal battle. This may mean that the United States will ban imports of some iPhones. What's going on in the patent war between apple and Qualcomm? Today, let's review it together.
Justice Mary Joan McNamara of the International Trade Commission said some iPhones containing Intel modems could be banned from shipping from China to the United States. The ruling is still pending review by the ITC.
Moreover, after review, the situation may change: in another decision made by ITC today, due to the rejection of the original patent infringement ruling by the whole committee, Qualcomm once again lost the opportunity to ban the iPhone.
In any case, McNamara's proposed ban dealt a blow to apple. In early March, Apple was found to have infringed three separate patents of Qualcomm, one of many legal disputes between the two companies.
Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel of Qualcomm, said: 'we are pleased to see judge McNamara of the US International Trade Commission today rule that the processor designed by Apple infringes our & lsquo; 674 patent. The innovation we bring to the iPhone is not limited to a single component. Judge McNamara's ruling and recent infringement rulings by other courts in the United States and other countries around the world all prove the value of our technology. '
Apple's & lsquo; 674 patent, which is believed to have been infringed, can improve the energy management in processor circuits to reduce the power consumption of mobile devices and extend their battery life. Qualcomm has accused apple of violating the patent with its A10, a11 and A12 application processor circuits, which are widely used in Apple devices, from the iPhone 7 to the latest iPhone models.
It is reported that judge McNamara's preliminary ruling and relief proposal will be submitted to members of the Committee for deliberation, and the final ruling will be issued on July 26, 2019.
Earlier, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) recently issued a final ruling notice on the investigation No. 337-ta-1065 of the ITC, which ruled that the patent for the power saving function of Qualcomm's battery was invalid. This ruling is inconsistent with the recent unanimous verdict of the jury, which found that Apple infringed the same patent at the end of the trial after Apple abandoned its invalid defense. Qualcomm said it would make a request to the Committee for reconsideration based on the verdict of the jury.
The patent litigation dispute between apple and Qualcomm has lasted for more than two years, involving markets such as the United States, China and Europe. Qualcomm said Apple infringed its patent rights and sought a ban on the import of iPhones. Qualcomm revealed that Apple's unpaid royalties on the iPhone have reached billions of dollars. Apple, on the other hand, denied any patent infringement and said it was trying to squeeze its only U.S. competitor out of the market.
According to foreign media reports, in the past two years, Qualcomm and apple have conducted more than 80 judicial proceedings in 16 jurisdictions in six countries. At present, patent courts in China and Germany have ruled that Apple has infringed other non-standard essential patents of Qualcomm and issued injunctions against the infringed devices. Two weeks ago, a federal court in San Diego ruled that Apple had infringed three patents of Qualcomm and had to pay it about $31 million in damages.