Qualcomm loses global injunction bid against Apple
Qualcomm has lost its bid for an injunction staying all foreign actions brought by Apple against the semiconductor company.
In mid-July, Qualcomm requested the injunction at the US District Court for the Southern District of California, asking the court to order Apple to dismiss or stay its foreign actions against Qualcomm or its subsidiaries.
Apple has sued the semiconductor company in China, Japan, Taiwan, and the UK, filing a total of 11 suits between January and April this year.
Qualcomm also asked the court to prevent Apple from initiating additional duplicative foreign actions against Qualcomm during the pendency of the US dispute.
The semiconductor company argued that the anti-suit injunction is appropriate because all of Apple’s foreign actions are part of a single licensing dispute already before the US court.
But the request for an injunction was rejected on Thursday, September 7 by US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel.
He held that the foreign actions are not duplicative of the US lawsuit.
“Apple’s declarations make evident that it has sought to challenge Qualcomm’s patent licensing practices and anticompetitive conduct territory by territory,” said Curiel.
He added: “While Qualcomm may object to this litigation strategy as duplicative, the court will not conclude that Apple’s exercise of its rights under foreign laws is vexatious.”
The clash began in January when Apple accused Qualcomm of abusing its monopoly in the mobile device market to gain unfair royalties from Apple’s inventions.
Apple claimed it had been overcharged billions of dollars by Qualcomm. The semiconductor company counterclaimed.
In July, Qualcomm filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission, alleging that Apple infringed six of its patents in the iPhone model and requesting a ban on imports.
When approached by WIPR for comment, a Qualcomm spokesperson stated that while the company is"disappointed" by the ruling, it "recognises that the motions involved high procedural hurdles".
"Nevertheless, we are pleased that the court has set a case schedule that will get us to trial expeditiously”, the spokesperson added.
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