Apple Vs. Qualcomm: After Lawsuits, Chip Supplier Tells Cupertino Company To 'Bring It On'

Things are getting heated between Apple and chip supplier Qualcomm, as the company’s CEO told the Cupertino-based giant to “bring it on,” CNET reported.

Qualcomm CEO Mollenkopf and Derek Aberle spent the first 20 minutes of its hour-long quarterly earns call talking about the battle against Apple.

Apple Vs. Qualcomm

The dispute between both companies began when Apple sued Qualcomm last Friday, days after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm over patent royalty practices and for allegedly engaging in anticompetitive tactics to ensure its monopoly on a key semiconductor used in mobile phones. Apple also accused the company of overcharging for its chips (Qualcomm is major chip supplier for Apple and its rival Samsung).

But it didn’t stop there. On Wednesday, Apple filed two more lawsuits against Qualcomm in China, accusing the company of abusing its position in the chip industry, and is asking for $1 billion yuan ($145.32 million USD) in damages. In the second lawsuit, Apple alleged the chip supplier failed to live up to promises made to license "standard essential patents" broadly and inexpensively, Beijing's Intellectual Property Court said, according to Reuters.

Qualcomm Retaliates

Heads of Qualcomm said the lawsuits were “without merit,” adding that Apple was all about the money and is an effort to squeeze as much money as possible from its supplier, CNET reported.

"Apple's complaint contains a lot of assertions, but in the end, this is a commercial dispute over the price of intellectual property," Mollenkopf said. "They want to pay less for the fair value that Qualcomm has established in the marketplace for our technology, even though Apple has generated billions in profits from using that technology."

However, Mollenkopf said he was “confident” both companies will “address and get through the legal challenges underway, as we have done many times in the past.” He added Qualcomm would continue to supply Apple with chips throughout their dispute.