Amaya Toman A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction ordering Qualcomm to pay Apple nearly $1 billion in patent royalty payments, according to the latest Reuters reports. The order was issued by Judge Gonzalo Curiel of the US District Court for Southern California.
According to Reuters, the contract factories that make the iPhones paid Qualcomm billions of dollars a year to use the proprietary technology involved. In addition, there was a special agreement between Qualcomm and Apple whereby Qualcomm guaranteed Apple a discount on iPhone patent fees if Apple did not attack Qualcomm in court.
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Apple filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm two years ago, claiming that the processor maker breached a mutual agreement by failing to keep a promise to discount said patent fees. Qualcomm countered by saying it cut the discounts because Apple encouraged other smartphone makers to complain to regulators and file "false and misleading" statements with the Korean Fair Trade Commission.
Judge Curiel sided with Apple in the case and ordered Qualcomm to pay Apple the difference in fees. The Cupertino company said in a statement that Qualcomm's illegal business practices harm not only it, but also the entire industry.
In addition to Judge Curiel's ruling this week, Qualcomm v. Apple many unsolved. A final decision won't be made until next month. Apple's contract factories, which would normally have paid Qulacom for iPhone-related patents, have already withheld nearly $1 billion in fees. These delayed fees have already been factored into Qualcomm's financial close.
"Apple has already settled the disputed payment under the royalty settlement," Qualcomm's Donald Rosenberg told Reuters.
Meanwhile, a separate patent infringement dispute between Qualcomm and Apple continues in San Diego. No decision has yet been made in this dispute.
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Jakub Karnik Source: 9to5Mac
Shame on Qualcomm. It might fall flat.