MUNICH: Chip supplier Qualcomm won a second court skirmish in its worldwide patent battle with Apple Inc on Thursday, with the iPhone maker saying it would pull some older models from its German stores.
Qualcomm’s win in Germany comes weeks after it secured a court order in China to ban sales of some iPhone models in that country. Apple, which is appealing both rulings, has kept all of its iPhones on sale in China but made changes to its iOS operating system in the wake of the Chinese order.
The German victory may affect only a few million iPhones out of the hundreds of millions that Apple sells each year, but it is a high-profile part of a larger legal battle that will spin into overdrive in the coming months, with antitrust regulators and Apple both taking Qualcomm to court in the US.
Apple alleges that Qualcomm engaged in illegal behaviour to preserve a monopoly on modem chips, which help mobile devices connect to wireless data networks. Qualcomm has in turn accused Apple of using vast stable of technology innovations without proper compensation.
Yesterday, Apple said it would pull older iPhones from its German stores after a court there ruled that Apple infringed a hardware patent of Qualcomm and banned sales of iPhones there with chips from Apple supplier Qorvo.
Qualcomm needs to post a bond of 668.4 million euros, or $765m, before it can begin proceedings to enforce the order, a move that could take several days due to holiday-related court closures next week. Apple said it was appealing the decision, but the order goes into effect as soon as Qualcomm posts the bond.
Apple said it would pull some phones from its stores while it pursued an appeal. “We are of course disappointed by this verdict and we plan to appeal,” Apple said in a statement. “All iPhone models remain available to customers through carriers and resellers in 4,300 locations across Germany. During the appeal process, iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 models will not be available at Apple’s 15 retail stores in Germany. iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR will remain available in all our stores.”
Stacy Rasgon, an analyst with research firm Bernstein, said in a note that Germany was a small iPhone market for Apple, selling about 10 million units a year, with possibly only half of those being the older models affected by the court’s order.
If Qualcomm posts the bond to enforce the order, it could seek to extend the ban to Apple’s resellers and the newer iPhone models not included thus far, legal experts said.
The case is part of a broader court conflict between the two, in which Apple has alleged that Qualcomm engaged in anticompetitive business practices to protect a monopoly on so-called modem chips, which help mobile phones connect to wireless data networks. The US Federal Trade Commission has also sued Qualcomm over its business practices in a case set to go to trial in California next month.