Qualcomm reportedly fired the latest salvo in its legal battle with Apple by seeking to ban the iPhone in the world’s largest smartphone market.
Bloomberg reported Friday that the San Diego chip maker filed lawsuits in China that would ban both the production and sale of Apple’s flagship device in the country.
The courtroom spat began in January when Apple filed an antitrust lawsuit over Qualcomm’s controversial licensing practices. Qualcomm responded with a July lawsuit alleging that Apple infringed on patented chip technology and seeking a ban on certain iPhone imports into the U.S.
The latest lawsuit, filed late last month in intellectual property court in Beijing, suggested that Apple violated three Qualcomm patents used to manage device power supplies and support touchscreen technology.
“Apple employs technologies invented by Qualcomm without paying for them,” Qualcomm spokeswoman Christine Trimble told Bloomberg.
Apple, which produces most of its iPhones in China, responded that the patents in question were never discussed by the companies and that the case was without merit. Apple continues to utilize some Qualcomm systems in its devices despite the dispute — and its efforts to design its own systems or rely on rival chip companies.
“Like their other courtroom maneuvers, we believe this latest legal effort will fail,” Apple spokesman Josh Rosenstock told the publication.
Analysts, meanwhile, told Bloomberg that the filing was likely an effort to jolt negotiations between the companies and that Apple, in the event of a judgment against it, would resume payments rather than “risk their business model.”
Filed Under: Devices
