“Just days after the Federal Trade Commission sued Qualcomm for antitrust concerns, Apple took an unprecedented step of similarly filling suit against one of its most important suppliers,” Evan Niu writes for The Motley Fool. “The complaints are largely the same, but Apple felt compelled to file its own lawsuit in part to get nearly $1 billion that it says it is owed.”
“According to the complaint, Qualcomm gives Apple rebates that effectively serve as royalty relief, but in exchange Apple has agreed to buy baseband processors exclusively from the company for the past five years,” Niu writes. “It’s these rebates that Qualcomm is now withholding since Apple has cooperated with antitrust regulators around the world.”
Here are the most damning things of which Qualcomm is being accused:
• Qualcomm tried to get Apple to change its testimony
• There’s little enforcement of whether patents are actually essential
• Qualcomm has violated its FRAND commitments
• Rivals never had a chance; Qualcomm cornered the market by leveraging its patent portfolio
• Qualcomm used Apple to kill WiMAX
• This has been going on for nearly a decade
Tons more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple obviously sees an opening to finally cut Qualcomm down to size. Hopefully, they’ll be successful, but changes in the political climate that affect change in the business climate could come into play.
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s legal assault on Qualcomm part of iPhone margin grab – January 23, 2017
Qualcomm says Apple’s claims are ‘baseless’ in response to Cupertino’s $1 billion lawsuit – January 21, 2017
Apple sues Qualcomm for $1 billion over onerous licensing practices – January 20, 2017
Qualcomm exec says FTC ‘rushed’ antitrust lawsuit before President-elect Trump’s inauguration – January 19, 2017
FTC alleges Qualcomm forced Apple into iPhone LTE chip deals – January 18, 2017
FTC charges Qualcomm with monopolizing key smartphone chip; alleges extracted exclusivity from Apple in exchange for reduced patent royalties – January 17, 2017
After eating Intel’s mobile lunch, Apple could next devour Qualcomm’s Baseband Processor business – January 20, 2015
Analyst: Apple’s going to dump Intel modems if they keep lagging Qualcomm – December 5, 2016
Yes, Apple is throttling download speeds for iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Verizon and Sprint versions – November 19, 2016
Apple’s modem choices may leave Verizon iPhone users feeling throttled – November 18, 2016
Tests show iPhone 7 Plus models with Qualcomm modem perform significantly better than those with Intel modem – October 20, 2016