Apple wins motion to narrow damages Qualcomm can claim at upcoming trial

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A federal judge has granted an Apple motion to limit the damages Qualcomm can claim in a patent trial slated to start next month in San Diego.

iPhone 8 Plus


The latter will no longer be able to claim damages from before the suit was filed in 2017, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The judge also rejected one of several patents the chipmaker is suing over, connected to things like graphics and power consumption.

The patents are the same as one of two batches Qualcomm previously brought before the U.S. International Trade Commission in hoping to win an import ban. Though Apple was found to have infringed one patent, the Commission recommended against a ban. A final ruling will arrive on March 26.

Apple and Qualcomm are engaged in a worldwide legal battle that kicked off in January 2017, when Apple sued over nearly $1 billion in rebates it said were withheld as retaliation for cooperation with antitrust investigators. Private lawsuits are ongoing around the world, and various government bodies have pursued their own actions, sometimes leveling millions of dollars in fines. A trial brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, with Apple's help, concluded late last month.

Limited iPhone import bans are currently in effect in China and Germany.

The crux of complaints against Qualcomm is the allegation that it forces chip buyers to sign patent licenses at unfair rates. Qualcomm though has made its own set of counter-charges, including that Apple shared trade secrets with Intel -- currently Apple's only cellular modem provider.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    carnegiecarnegie Posts: 1,085member
    https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.casd.538308/gov.uscourts.casd.538308.579.0_1.pdf

    The non-infringement part of this decision doesn't bode well for Qualcomm when it comes to the ultimate fate of the injunctions it got against Apple in Germany. Apple likely hasn't actually infringed the patents at issue there.
    edited February 2019
    chasmradarthekatronnwatto_cobra
     4Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 2 of 7
    MplsPmplsp Posts: 4,179member
    Victories seem to be few and far between. Poor Qualcomm!
    edited February 2019
    radarthekatronnwatto_cobra
     3Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 7
    No one will shed a tear when they are relegated to the dustbin of history.
    shrave10radarthekatronnwatto_cobra
     4Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 4 of 7
    1st1st Posts: 443member
    China ruling ban was expected (close tie with qcom), but Germany, why?  
    watto_cobra
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 5 of 7
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,179member
    1st said:
    China ruling ban was expected (close tie with qcom), but Germany, why?  
    It's been discussed here in a prior story on how Qualcomm got away with it (for now) in Germany.  Basically, a company supplying the tech to Apple refused to let QC's engineers look at their tech for fear QC would steal the technology.  In the U.S. - where QC lost a similar lawsuit - the judge allowed the technology to be viewed without QC's engineers being present.  Didn't go that way in Germany.  It reeks of QC not being up front with the judge.  I suspect they will lose on appeal.

    https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/12/20/qualcomm-blocked-evidence-in-german-apple-suit-that-previously-led-to-non-infringement-finding-in-us


    1stwatto_cobra
     1Like 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 6 of 7
    carnegie said:
    https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.casd.538308/gov.uscourts.casd.538308.579.0_1.pdf

    The non-infringement part of this decision doesn't bode well for Qualcomm when it comes to the ultimate fate of the injunctions it got against Apple in Germany. Apple likely hasn't actually infringed the patents at issue there.
    Qualcom deserves something....like $1.00. Hahaha
    watto_cobra
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 7 of 7
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,772member
    1st said:
    China ruling ban was expected (close tie with qcom), but Germany, why?  
    What close ties? Qualcomm is a US company.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
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