Qualcomm CEO says 'on the doorstep' of resolving legal battles with Apple

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Apple and chipmaker Qualcomm are "on the doorstep of finding a resolution" for their global legal war over patents and royalties, the latter's CEO claimed on Wednesday.

The iPhone XR, which uses an Intel cellular modem.
The iPhone XR, which uses an Intel cellular modem.


"We do talk as companies," Steve Mollenkopf told CNBC's Jim Cramer in an interview. The situation is consistent with "the fourth quarter of the game, and not the first quarter," Mollenkopf went on.

"We've always talked about -- I've been very consistent -- that...the second half of this year and into next year is when we're really on the doorstep of finding a resolution and we don't see anything different than that," he explained.

The CEO further suggested that Qualcomm would "love to work with Apple," particularly on a future 5G-equipped iPhone. Apple began using Intel cellular modems in some models of 2016's iPhone 7, and the current iPhone slate -- the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR -- has no Qualcomm modems at all.

The interview seemingly contradicts a report from earlier this month, which claimed that no negotiations were happening "at any level," and that Apple was in fact gearing up for trial.

Apple first filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Qualcomm in January 2017, arguing that the latter was withholding money as retaliation for cooperation with antitrust investigations. The battle quickly escalated, resulting in suits and countersuits around the world. In September, Qualcomm accused Apple of delivering trade secrets to Intel to improve the performance of modems.

A recurring theme is the accusation that Qualcomm has abused its market dominance to make chip buyers sign unfair patent deals. This claim has in fact been the subject of several antitrust investigations, conducted by the U.S., Taiwan, and South Korea. An August settlement saw Qualcomm pay $93 million in fines to Taiwan and promise to invest $700 million in the country over five years.

A U.S. Federal Trade Commission lawsuit actually precedes Apple's, and reached a critical turning point recently when District Judge Lucy Koh issued a preliminary ruling against Qualcomm, calling on it to license technology to rivals like Intel. Qualcomm and the FTC have been pursuing a settlement.

To put pressure on Qualcomm, Apple has been directing its manufacturers to withhold royalty payments, potentially in excess of $7 billion.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    Translation: "We're going to agree to Apples demands."
    jbdragonwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 2 of 19
    They kind of started playing the Investor appeasement card by issuing meaningless statements just like Intel does considering its 10nm thing they keep delaying yet being somehow ‘on track’.
    jbdragonwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 3 of 19
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,942member
    If Apple wants to settle than Apple already had done it before announcing to go to court early next year. This is just a talk. I will believe it when Apple says settled.
    magman1979jbdragonwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 4 of 19
    I want to see this go through the courts.  I think Qualcomm is sweating bullets...

    Qualcomm was in a position to push phone manufacturers around, now they aren’t... Karma.


    magman1979jbdragonwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 5 of 19
    Tim, just don’t.

    we want to see them burn.
    magman1979charlesgresmetrixwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 6 of 19
    Seriously doubt Apple will allow anything resembling Qualcomm 5G chips into future iPhones.
    edited November 2018
    magman1979jbdragonmetrixwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 7 of 19
    TomEtome Posts: 174member
    Qualcomm has screwed up and they know it.  They are toast.
    If you push Apple around and take advantage of them , eventually it will come back to you.
    Now they have other sources & can design their own.

    jbdragonmetrixwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 8 of 19
    MplsPmplsp Posts: 4,066member
    I want to see this go through the courts.  I think Qualcomm is sweating bullets...

    Qualcomm was in a position to push phone manufacturers around, now they aren’t... Karma.


    Totally agree- I would like nothing better than to see QC burn.

    From a business perspective continuing in the courts is not always the best case, though. 
    metrixwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 9 of 19
    tundraboytundraboy Posts: 1,919member
    Sounds like a total fold by Qualcomm is in the works.  Not surprising.  What is surprising is that Qualcomm's lawyers surely knew that the case law on FRAND patents and patent exhaustion doesn't favor Qualcomm and yet they went ahead and abused their patent rights.  Apple will probably let them walk away with a teeny, tiny fig leaf though.
    jbdragonwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 10 of 19
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,056member
    Translation: "We're going to agree to Apples demands."
    Yup...cuz their revenue was shit last year for messing with Apple.
    jbdragonwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 11 of 19
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    on the doorstep, hat in hand, bowing slightly
    magman1979watto_cobra
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  • Reply 12 of 19
    quinney said:
    on the doorstep, hat in hand, bowing slightly

    Only to find nobody home!
    watto_cobra
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 13 of 19
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,679member
    watto_cobra
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  • Reply 14 of 19
    viclauyyc said:
    Tim, just don’t.

    we want to see them burn.
    Yes, indeed.  I'd like nothing more than to see all those QC employees out of work because their upper management is shit. /s
    Anilu_777
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  • Reply 15 of 19
    croprcropr Posts: 1,143member
    Seriously doubt Apple will allow anything resembling Qualcomm 5G chips into future iPhones.
    That you  seriously doubt is irrelevant.   Currently Qualcomm is much further advanced in 5G than any other chip supplier.  As long as this remains the case,  Apple might not have a choice
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  • Reply 16 of 19
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 8,098member
    cropr said:
    Seriously doubt Apple will allow anything resembling Qualcomm 5G chips into future iPhones.
    That you  seriously doubt is irrelevant.   Currently Qualcomm is much further advanced in 5G than any other chip supplier.  As long as this remains the case,  Apple might not have a choice
    There is another supplier but not an option for Apple.

    https://www.lightreading.com/mobile/5g/bts-mcrae-huawei-is-the-only-true-5g-supplier-right-now/d/d-id/747734

    https://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/huawei-apparently-testing-its-kirin-990-chip-which-may-debut-in-q1-2019-5531251.html

    And QC has 5G patents too, so, as you mention, Apple might have no option but to end up using their tech.


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  • Reply 17 of 19
    If Qualcomm burns as some of you want it to, wont the IP just end up in the hands of some ‘non-practicing’ entity, i.e. patent troll?  
    gatorguywatto_cobra
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  • Reply 18 of 19
    k2kwk2kw Posts: 2,080member
    avon b7 said:
    cropr said:
    Seriously doubt Apple will allow anything resembling Qualcomm 5G chips into future iPhones.
    That you  seriously doubt is irrelevant.   Currently Qualcomm is much further advanced in 5G than any other chip supplier.  As long as this remains the case,  Apple might not have a choice
    There is another supplier but not an option for Apple.

    https://www.lightreading.com/mobile/5g/bts-mcrae-huawei-is-the-only-true-5g-supplier-right-now/d/d-id/747734

    https://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/huawei-apparently-testing-its-kirin-990-chip-which-may-debut-in-q1-2019-5531251.html

    And QC has 5G patents too, so, as you mention, Apple might have no option but to end up using their tech.



    Didn't Trump just ban Huawei because the military told him to. Maybe Apple could get chips from them, but Trump would just as soon turn around and slap a 40% Tariff on anything import from China with Wuawei chips.
    watto_cobra
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  • Reply 19 of 19
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 8,098member
    k2kw said:
    avon b7 said:
    cropr said:
    Seriously doubt Apple will allow anything resembling Qualcomm 5G chips into future iPhones.
    That you  seriously doubt is irrelevant.   Currently Qualcomm is much further advanced in 5G than any other chip supplier.  As long as this remains the case,  Apple might not have a choice
    There is another supplier but not an option for Apple.

    https://www.lightreading.com/mobile/5g/bts-mcrae-huawei-is-the-only-true-5g-supplier-right-now/d/d-id/747734

    https://www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/huawei-apparently-testing-its-kirin-990-chip-which-may-debut-in-q1-2019-5531251.html

    And QC has 5G patents too, so, as you mention, Apple might have no option but to end up using their tech.



    Didn't Trump just ban Huawei because the military told him to. Maybe Apple could get chips from them, but Trump would just as soon turn around and slap a 40% Tariff on anything import from China with Wuawei chips.
    One of the top executives at Huawei said yesterday that the US attempts to ban its product were protectionist and political - not security.

    The US wants to be a key player in 5G but it isn't and is now scrambling to catch up.

    He said that in over 30 years of business there has been no evidence provided of undue actions, and there are none now either.

    According to him tariffs are not the solution and not allowing Huawei to trade freely would only lead to higher prices for US citizens (so much for tariffs).

    The US is now pushing allies to do the same with Huawei and it wouldn't surprise me if the Chinese government eventually gets tired of these anti competitive actions and reacted. Then things would only get worse and we won't be speaking about Apple's 5G options but the negative impact on a huge swathe of its overall business.

    https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/29/huawei-boss-us-may-not-win-the-5g-race-if-it-doesnt-let-us-back-in.html
    edited November 2018
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