Thu. Mar 28th, 2024
Apple store

The latest development in the ongoing legal war between Qualcomm and Apple has caused Apple to pull the sales of its iPhone 7 and 8 from German websites and stores. Qualcomm claimed that Apple was infringing on its intellectual patent related to power savings on a smartphone. While iPhone XS and XR available in the German market, the iPhone 7 and 8 have been pulled down.

According to Qualcomm, “The Court found that Apple is infringing Qualcomm’s patented power savings technology used in smartphones.” Qualcomm was required by the German court to post a € 1.34 Billion bond with German court to enforce the hearing.

It’s not clear whether the third party sellers and carriers will still be able to sell the phones. While Qualcomm says the court has “also ordered Apple to recall infringing iPhones from third-party resellers”, Apple back in December claimed “all iPhone models remain available to customers through carriers and resellers in 4,300 locations across Germany,” while it appeals the ban on its own stores.

The feud occurred between the two tech giants back in 2017 when Apple accused Qualcomm of charging unfair prices for its modem chip to which Qualcomm responded with a variety of lawsuits around the world. Apple is also facing this kind of situation in China where Qualcomm has also won a sales ban over patent infringment issues.

After the fued between Qualcomm cooled down, Apple partnered up with other chip makers instead, including Intel. Qualcomm sued Aplle in September 2018 claiming that Apple shared proprietary details about Qualcomm’s modem chips with Intel.

In the mean time, Qualcomm is facing off a court hearing against the US Federal Trade Comission, which has accussed Qualcomm of mistreating the license for mobile chip patents. If Qualcomm loses this case it might strengthen Apple’s position for negotiations.

Apple has been in quite a tight spot lately, given its feud with Qualcomm and its all time low iPhone sales due to the trade war on China asserted by US president Donald Trump.

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