Qualcomm wins German injunction against Apple
Qualcomm has been granted an injunction against Apple that bans the sale of some iPhone models in Germany.
The District Court of Munich ruled yesterday, December 20, that Apple will be banned from selling iPhone models that use chips from technology company Intel and parts from another Apple supplier, Qorvo.
Presiding judge Matthias Zigann told the court that the ruling will not go into immediate effect, as Apple has said it plans to appeal against the decision.
The smartphone maker said that during the appeal process, the banned models—the iPhone 7 and 8—will not be sold at Apple’s 15 retail stores in Germany.
But, the banned models will still be sold through mobile network carriers and third-party retailers throughout Germany.
According to a Qualcomm press release, the injunction will come into effect as soon as Qualcomm posts the required bonds, a process that it will complete “within a few days”.
In Thursday’s court decision, Zigann ruled that phones containing a combination of chips from Intel and Qorvo violated one of Qualcomm’s patents for “envelope tracking”, a feature that helps mobile phones save battery while sending and receiving wireless signals.
In a statement to Reuters, Apple accused Qualcomm of “harming innovation” and consumers.
“Qualcomm’s campaign is a desperate attempt to distract from the real issues between our companies. Their tactics, in the courts and in their everyday business, are harming innovation and harming consumers.”
Earlier this month, on December 10, a court in China issued injunctions against Apple after a patent complaint by Qualcomm.
The executive vice president and general counsel of Qualcomm, Don Rosenberg, said the company was pleased with the latest ruling.
“Two respected courts in two different jurisdictions just in the past two weeks have now confirmed the value of Qualcomm’s patents and declared Apple an infringer, ordering a ban on iPhones in the important markets of Germany and China.”
Qorvo’s chief IP counsel, Mike Baker, said the company’s envelope tracking chip does not infringe Qualcomm’s patent, despite the court’s decision.
“We believe our envelope tracking chip does not infringe the patent in suit, and the court would have come to a different conclusion if it had considered all the evidence. We currently do not expect that this decision will have any impact on our business with Apple.”
The ruling comes as the latest development in an ongoing legal dispute between the two companies, which are engaged in patent litigation in courts around the world.
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