Qualcomm and Apple have been at each other's throats for seemingly endless months over various patent disputes, and in the latest development of this saga, Qualcomm's seeing another victory. In a press release issued by the company on December 10, 2018, it announced the following:
The Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court in China has granted the Company's request for two preliminary injunctions against four Chinese subsidiaries of Apple Inc., ordering them to immediately cease infringing upon two Qualcomm patents through the unlicensed importation, sale and offers for sale in China.
Updated 1:55 PM ET — Apple is appealing Qualcomm's attempted ban of iPhone sales in China
Following Qualcomm's press release this morning, Apple has since responded with its own statement. According to CNBC, Apple is now getting ready to appeal Qualcomm's attempted ban on the sale of its older iPhone models in China. Here's what Apple had to say:
Qualcomm's effort to ban our products is another desperate move by a company whose illegal practices are under investigation by regulators around the world. All iPhone models remain available for our customers in China. Qualcomm is asserting three patents they had never raised before, including one which has already been invalidated. We will pursue all our legal options through the courts.
In other words, the People's Court is ordering Apple to stop selling the iPhone 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, and X in China. The newer iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR aren't affected by the ruling.
The reason for the ban? According to Qualcomm, these phones infringe on patents that:
Enable consumers to adjust and reformat the size and appearance of photographs, and to manage applications using a touch screen when viewing, navigating and dismissing applications on their phones.
This is one of the most aggressive moves we've seen from Qualcomm's side in its war with Apple so far, so it'll be incredibly interesting to see where things go from here.
It's unclear when the ban is supposed to go into effect, but we're bound to hear more on this in the not-too-distant future.
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