China iPhone Ban: Qualcomm Lawsuits Seek To Prohibit Sale, Production In Country

Apple and Qualcomm’s legal battle heightened after the chip company filed lawsuits in China that seek to ban the sale of iPhones in the country, according to a Bloomberg report. The chipmaker’s move also aims to shut off production in China, where most iPhones are made in before they’re shipped to other markets.

Qualcomm’s filings follow Apple’s release of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus last month. It also comes as the Cupertino company prepares to release the iPhone X, which is expected to be more popular than the iPhone 8 devices because of its Face ID feature. If the ban were to go through, it would affect Apple, since China is an important market for the company. However, Apple told International Business Times in a statement that it believes “Qualcomm’s latest legal effort will fail.”

The lawsuits against Apple, which cited patent infringement, were filed in a Beijing intellectual property court on Sept. 29.

"Apple employs technologies invented by Qualcomm without paying for them," Qualcomm spokesperson Christine Trimble told Bloomberg.

The lawsuits are based on three non-standard essential patents, covering power management and a touch-screen technology called Force Touch that is currently used on iPhones, Qualcomm told Bloomberg. Trimble said the inventions "are a few examples of the many Qualcomm technologies that Apple uses to improve its devices and increase its profits.”

In response to the lawsuits, Apple said in a statement to IBT:

“Apple believes deeply in the value of innovation, and we have always been willing to pay fair and reasonable rates for patents we use. In our many years of ongoing negotiations with Qualcomm, these patents have never been discussed and in fact were only granted in the last few months.

Regulators around the world have found Qualcomm guilty of abusing their position for years. This claim is meritless and, like their other courtroom maneuvers, we believe this latest legal effort will fail.”

IBT has also reached out to Qualcomm for comment.

The heated legal battle between Qualcomm and Apple began in January when the U.S. Federal Trade Commision filed a complaint that said Qualcomm forced the Cupertino company to use its chips for higher patent royalties. Apple then filed lawsuits against Qualcomm. The iPhone maker claimed Qualcomm, which has a chipset business and licensing business, was charging royalties for technologies “they have nothing to do with.”

Qualcomm then countersued Apple in April, and shortly afterwards Apple announced it was completely withholding payments for royalties amid the legal battle between both companies.

Apart from the accusations made by Apple in its lawsuits, the chipmaker has also being investigated in other countries for anticompetitive and monopolistic trade practices. Recently, the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission imposed a $773 billion fine on Qualcomm, saying the company violated Taiwanese competition law. Qualcomm said this week it is appealing the decision.

“The fine bears no rational relationship to the amount of Qualcomm’s revenues or activities in Taiwan, and Qualcomm will appeal the amount of the fine and the method used to calculate it,” the company said in a press release.