Apple infringes Qualcomm patent, but U.S judge declines iPhone import ban

Qualcomm suffered a major defeat in its ongoing legal battle with Apple after a U.S trade judge declined its request to ban iPhone imports. 

Although the U.S International Trade Commission (ITC) judge ruled that Apple has infringed one Qualcomm patent related to power management technology, he denied Qualcomm's request for an iPhone import ban.

The ITC judge, who is Thomas Pender, said that “public interest factors” weighed against granting Qualcomm’s request for a ban. The determination will be reviewed by other judges. Apple, Qualcomm and Intel have responded to the latest development: 

“We’re glad the ITC stopped Qualcomm’s attempt to damage competition and ultimately harm innovators and U.S. consumers,” Apple said.

Qualcomm's general counsel Don Rosenberg said the company is pleased that the judge did find patent infringement, but the denial of the import ban "makes no sense" .

“That goes against the ITC mandate to protect American innovators by blocking the import of infringing products,” Rosenberg said. “There are many ways Apple could stop infringing our technology without affecting the public interest.”

Intel's general counsel, Steven Rodgers, wrote in a blog post that Qualcomm had “publicly disparaged Intel’s products” as inferior to Qualcomm’s during the case.

“It is easy to say things, but Intel’s track record is clear,” Rodgers wrote in his post. “Every day, we push the boundaries of computing and communication technologies. And, the proof is in the pudding: last year, the U.S. Patent Office awarded more patents to Intel than to Qualcomm.”

The legal battle is far from over; Qualcomm filed a new lawsuit against Apple claiming that the iPhone maker stole its source code and other trade secrets, and passed the information to Intel. 

Source: Reuters

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