According to Apple, the semiconductor manufacturer is demanding far too high licensing fees – the chip company is abusing its market power – according to Apple.
On December 20, 2018, the Munich Regional Court issued a ruling in favor of semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm against Apple. According to the ruling, Apple is no longer allowed to sell or market certain iPhone models in this country. The reason for this is the infringement of a patent whose technology optimizes the power consumption of the mobile phone chip. According to Qualcomm, Apple cannot change this with an iOS update. The ruling is not yet final, but is provisionally enforceable - Apple has already announced that it intends to appeal. Qualcomm can take direct action against Apple if it pays a security deposit of 668.4 million euros.
Security deposited by Qualcomm
Qualcomm has today deposited a security deposit of over 1.34 billion euros in securities and thus put the sales ban into effect. Accordingly, Apple is no longer allowed to sell or market the iPhone 7, iPhone 7+, iPhone 8, iPhone 8+ and iPhone X models in this country.
Affected devices are to be destroyed
Apple is to remove the affected iPhone models from its 15 stores in Germany and thus temporarily stop selling them. According to a spokesman for the iGroup, Apple is disappointed by the ruling. Nevertheless, the iPhone models in question are still available from other retailers and contractual partners in Germany. Now the chip manufacturer wants to put a stop to this as well. According to the ruling, Qualcomm is allowed to confiscate and destroy all affected iPhone models from German retailers. The semiconductor manufacturer therefore wants to extend the sales ban to all German retailers. Qualcomm also wants to gain insight into the sales figures for the iPhone devices in question.
