After the ban on older iPhones, Qualcomm is now targeting Apple’s latest models – iPhone XR, XS and XS Max in China
Apple has decided to update iPhones to resolve its legal dispute in China. The company said that the move was to address any possible concern about its compliance with the court’s order.
A court in China had banned the sale and import of most of the older iPhones. The injunction centred on the court’s decision that the Cupertino-based tech giant had violated the same two Qualcomm patents in the older models.
According to a report in the New York Times, Apple said that its update would change the iPhones’ software, so it did not infringe on Qualcomm patents, which relate to switching between apps and changing the size and appearance of photographs.
Apple sales continue in China after ban
Despite the injunction, Apple said that its iPhones remain on sale in China. However, Don Rosenberg, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Qualcomm, said that Apple is violating the court’s order. “They are legally obligated to immediately cease sales, offers for sale and importation of the devices identified in the orders and to prove compliance in court,” he was quoted saying.
Apple appeals against court ruling
Apple, meanwhile, has appealed against the Chinese court ruling. It has reportedly accused Qualcomm of playing dirty tricks, including asserting a patent that had already been invalidated by international courts and other patents that it had never before used.
In a statement, it said that Qualcomm’s effort to ban the iPhones was another desperate move by a company whose illegal practices were under investigation by regulators around the world.
Qualcomm seeks ban on iPhone XR and XS sales
After getting iPhone’s old models banned in China, Qualcomm is targeting the tech giant’s latest ones – iPhone XR, XS and XS Max. In an interview with the Financial Times, Jiang Hongyi, Attorney, Qualcomm, said that the company would argue that Apple violated two of its patents in its latest iPhone models and would use that as a basis to have them removed from Chinese store shelves.
It is to be noted that China, Hong Kong and Taiwan accounted for about one-fifth of Apple’s total $265.6 billion sales during the last fiscal year.
