Apple said on Monday, that it has filed an appeal to overturn a court decision that could ban iPhone sales in China. This essentially means, that all of company’s models will continue to sell in its third largest market in terms of sales.
This injunction received by Apple, is over a lawuit filed by American chipmaker Qualcomm. The chipmaker has accused Apple of violating two specific patents related to certain features on older iPhone models. These features relate to users’ ability to edit photos and manage apps on smartphone touchscreens. These two features in question are patented by Qualcomm.
Apple continues to benefit from our intellectual property while refusing to compensate us. These Court orders are further confirmation of the strength of Qualcomm’s vast patent portfolio.
said Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel of Qualcomm, in a statement.
The entire Qualcomm-Apple saga has been one of the longest standing patent disputes in the tech community, with the former seeking a complete ban on manufacturing and sale of iPhones in China. The issue raised by Qualcomm revolves around payments and compensation that the company accuses Apple of not paying.
In a counter to Qualcomm’s statement, Apple has called Qualcomm’s effort to ban its products “another desperate move by a company whose illegal practices are under investigation by regulators around the world.” It also claimed that Qualcomm is asserting three patents they had never raised before, including one which has already been invalidated.
