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18 May 2017Patents

Qualcomm sues four iPhone suppliers in Apple brawl

In the latest development of the Apple v Qualcomm royalties battle, semiconductor company Qualcomm has sued four Taiwan-based iPhone suppliers.

Filed at the US District Court for the Southern District of California yesterday, the suit alleged that the four companies, including Foxconn, an electronics contract manufacturer, had not paid royalties.

The battle began in January this year, when Apple  claimed Qualcomm had abused its monopoly in the mobile device market to gain unfair royalties from Apple’s inventions.

Apple alleged that it had been overcharged billions of dollars by Qualcomm.

In order for Apple to purchase Qualcomm chips or obtain access to patents linked to a cellular standard, Qualcomm is allegedly demanding that third parties pay Qualcomm a royalty which is greater than the value of Qualcomm’s contribution.

Qualcomm  counterclaimed in April, arguing that Apple has attempted to force the semiconductor company to accept “less than fair value” for its IP.

In its latest complaint against the Taiwan-based suppliers, Qualcomm said that the defendants had a long-term licence agreement, which included royalty payments.

“Since the start of 2017, however, Apple has interfered with defendants’ long-standing payment obligations to Qualcomm,” said the claim.

It alleged that Apple has withheld substantial payments from the defendants that it owes for Qualcomm royalties.

Qualcomm also alleged that Apple had directed Foxconn and the other suppliers not to make royalty payments to Qualcomm.

“Defendants have admitted that Apple is directing their breach, and Apple has admitted that it will continue to withhold Qualcomm royalties for the indefinite future,” said the suit.

Qualcomm is seeking an order that the defendants comply with the licence agreement, compensatory and consequential damages, and attorneys’ fees.

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