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posted by martyb on Thursday July 20 2017, @02:43AM   Printer-friendly
from the is-bundling-ever-a-good-thing? dept.

Companies manufacturing iPhones for Apple have filed lawsuits against Qualcomm Inc., as Qualcomm has filed new patent suits against Apple in the EU:

Apple Inc. and its Asian contract manufacturers are hitting back at Qualcomm Inc. with legal claims that try to undermine the chipmaker's attempt to force them to pay licensing fees.

Qualcomm is asking for payments in excess of what it would normally receive, Apple, Compal Electronics Inc., Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. and others said early Wednesday in court filings. If successful, the counter-claims could cost Qualcomm billions of dollars in refunded fees and damages, Apple said.

Also Wednesday, Qualcomm said it had filed two new patent-infringement suits against Apple, this time in Germany. The patents, for ways to transmit information without draining battery life, are the European counterparts to those that are part of a case Qualcomm filed with a trade agency in Washington seeking to halt imports of Apple products into the U.S. market.

The filings, in California as well as Germany, represent the latest escalation in the dispute between Apple and Qualcomm over fees the San Diego-based company charges on all modern phones, even if the device doesn't have one of its chips. That revenue stream has made it one of the richest companies in the industry.

Also at ITWorld, The Register, and 9to5Mac.


Original Submission

Related Stories

Apple Could Switch From Qualcomm to Intel and MediaTek for Modems 10 comments

Apple is considering completely switching away from Qualcomm components, such as modems, in future iterations of the iPhone. Intel modems have already been used in some iPhones, and MediaTek is also under consideration:

Apple Inc has designed iPhones and iPads that would drop chips supplied by Qualcomm Inc, according to two people familiar with the matter. The change would affect iPhones released in the fall of 2018, but Apple could still change course before then, these people said. They declined to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.

The dispute stems from a change in supply arrangements under which Qualcomm has stopped providing some software for Apple to test its chips in its iPhone designs, one of the people told Reuters.

The two companies are locked in a multinational legal dispute over the Qualcomm's licensing terms to Apple.

Qualcomm told Reuters it is providing fully tested chips to Apple for iPhones. "We are committed to supporting Apple's new devices consistent with our support of all others in the industry," Qualcomm said in a statement.

Apple and other companies are suing Qualcomm over licensing fees. Apple has had similar hardware-level disputes with Samsung in the past. Apple designs its own ARM chips but has to have them manufactured by Samsung or TSMC.

Also at Bloomberg and 9to5Mac.


Original Submission

Qualcomm Files New Lawsuit Against Apple, Alleging it Shared Confidential Information with Intel 9 comments

Qualcomm accuses Apple of helping Intel with chip software

The patent licensing battle between Apple and Qualcomm keeps getting more heated. Wednesday, Qualcomm filed another lawsuit against Apple, this time alleging Apple shared confidential Qualcomm software information with its chip rival, Intel. The breach of contract lawsuit said Qualcomm gave Apple "unprecedented access to Qualcomm's very valuable and highly confidential software, including source code." In return, Apple agreed to take steps to keep the software confidential and secure. But Qualcomm said instead it found that Apple shared information with Intel.

In one instance, Apple requested confidential software information from Qualcomm and cc'd an Intel engineer on the message, Qualcomm said.

Qualcomm wants a court to declare Apple breached the agreement and award damages, among other demands. "As the direct and proximate result of Apple's conduct, Qualcomm has suffered significant damages in an amount to be proven at trial," the filing said.

Apple also hasn't complied with Qualcomm's rights to audit Apple's compliance with the provisions of their software agreement, Qualcomm said in its lawsuit. It wants to do so to make sure Apple hasn't shared more information with Intel.

Also at Bloomberg, AppleInsider, and MacRumors.

Previously: U.S. Federal Trade Commission Sues Qualcomm for Anti-Competitive Practices
Qualcomm's Good Quarter
Intel Hints at Patent Fight With Microsoft and Qualcomm Over x86 Emulation
Apple vs. Qualcomm Escalates, Manufacturers Join in, Lawsuits Filed in California and Germany
Apple Could Switch From Qualcomm to Intel and MediaTek for Modems


Original Submission

EU Fines Qualcomm 997 Million Euros for Anti-Competitive Payments to Apple 26 comments

Qualcomm Gets $1.2 Billion EU Fine for Apple Chip Payments

Qualcomm Inc. was fined 997 million euros ($1.2 billion) by the European Union for paying Apple Inc. to shun rival chips in its iPhones.

The largest maker of chips that help run smartphones "paid billions of U.S. dollars to a key customer, Apple, so that it would not buy from rivals," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. "This meant that no rival could effectively challenge Qualcomm in this market, no matter how good their products were."

Qualcomm struck a deal with Apple in 2011 that pledged significant payments if Apple only used Qualcomm chipsets for the iPhone and iPad devices. That agreement was renewed in 2013 until 2016. Qualcomm warned it would stop these payments if Apple sold another product with a rival chip. This effectively shut out competitors such as Intel Corp. from the market for LTE baseband chipsets used in the 4G mobile phone standard for five years, the EU said.

European Commission press release. Also at Reuters.

Previously: EU Investigates Qualcomm For Antitrust Activities
U.S. Federal Trade Commission Sues Qualcomm for Anti-Competitive Practices
Apple Could Switch From Qualcomm to Intel and MediaTek for Modems

Related: Apple vs. Qualcomm Escalates, Manufacturers Join in, Lawsuits Filed in California and Germany
Qualcomm Files New Lawsuit Against Apple, Alleging it Shared Confidential Information with Intel
Broadcom Offers $105 Billion for Qualcomm; Moves HQ Back to the USA


Original Submission

Qualcomm Accuses Apple of Passing its Trade Secrets on to Intel 6 comments

Qualcomm accuses Apple of stealing its secrets to help Intel

Qualcomm Inc on Tuesday accused Apple Inc of stealing its chip-making secrets and giving them to rival Intel Corp, paving the way for Apple to switch to Intel's improved semiconductors, which may have cost Qualcomm billions of dollars in lost sales.

The accusation, made in a legal filing on Tuesday, is the latest salvo in a drawn-out patent dispute between the two tech heavyweights.

Qualcomm accused Apple of misusing secret Qualcomm software to share information about its chips with Intel engineers in a November lawsuit, but went further on Tuesday by saying Apple stole Qualcomm trade secrets as part of a "multi-year campaign of sloppy, inappropriate and deceitful conduct" designed to improve rivals' chipsets and ultimately divert Qualcomm's Apple-based business to Intel.

[...] The world's most valuable technology company previously used Qualcomm's modem chips in its iPhone, which helped the device connect to wireless data networks. With the iPhone 7, launched in 2016, Apple began using Intel modem chips in some models instead.

Also at CNBC.

Previously: Apple Sues Qualcomm for $1 Billion over Patent Royalties and "Retaliation"
Apple vs. Qualcomm Escalates, Manufacturers Join in, Lawsuits Filed in California and Germany
Apple Could Switch From Qualcomm to Intel and MediaTek for Modems
Qualcomm Files New Lawsuit Against Apple, Alleging it Shared Confidential Information with Intel


Original Submission

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 20 2017, @03:14AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 20 2017, @03:14AM (#541776)

    Whoever wins gets the planet.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 20 2017, @03:50AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 20 2017, @03:50AM (#541790)

      Let's roger everyone instead.

    • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Thursday July 20 2017, @04:01AM

      by kaszz (4211) on Thursday July 20 2017, @04:01AM (#541795) Journal

      Nice patent portfolio you got there.... :-)

  • (Score: 2) by arslan on Thursday July 20 2017, @03:31AM (2 children)

    by arslan (3462) on Thursday July 20 2017, @03:31AM (#541779)

    Is this a rare examples of when patents system is useful, not necessarily align to its original intent/spirit, where business can protect themselves from other businesses going on a patent troll rampage?

    Just from TFS, without RTFA, Qualcomm looks like the greedy kid on the street here...

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by radu on Thursday July 20 2017, @06:08AM

      by radu (1919) on Thursday July 20 2017, @06:08AM (#541830)

      Qualcomm looks like the greedy kid

      Next time they'll change roles and the other one will look like the greedy kid. Doesn't matter who of them "wins". It's us, the consumers, who are paying the lawyers all over again. Repeat endlessly.

      rare examples of when patents system is useful

      Really?

    • (Score: 2) by RamiK on Thursday July 20 2017, @06:39AM

      by RamiK (1813) on Thursday July 20 2017, @06:39AM (#541835)

      Is this a rare examples

      No. Unless the problem is lawyers not finding work, patents serving to deter patent litigation is as useful as amputating one's feet to rid oneself of the inconvenience of lacing one's shoes.

      Might as well defend the protection racket on account it deters others from extorting you for their protection.

      --
      compiling...
  • (Score: 4, Informative) by kaszz on Thursday July 20 2017, @03:56AM (2 children)

    by kaszz (4211) on Thursday July 20 2017, @03:56AM (#541792) Journal

    Is this part of a sue-because-I-can or is it a legitimate case where one party tries to screw the other party and the retaliation is suing?
    Qualcomm is a DMCA [soylentnews.org] shithead. Internet will not forget..

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 20 2017, @04:07AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 20 2017, @04:07AM (#541797)

      Internet will not forget..

      Won't forget what? Omg ponies..

    • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday July 20 2017, @05:49PM

      by DeathMonkey (1380) on Thursday July 20 2017, @05:49PM (#541998) Journal

      Qualcomm is a DMCA [soylentnews.org] shithead. Internet will not forget..

      So is Apple. [fortune.com]

      I highly doubt you're going to find any angels amongst the proprietary vendors crowd.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 20 2017, @04:17AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 20 2017, @04:17AM (#541798)

    Make them all lose.

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