Apple Wins a Qualcomm Patent Fight -- WSJ
January 16 2019 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
German court rules against chip maker in latest global dispute
with iPhone maker
By Sara Germano
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (January 16, 2019).
BERLIN -- A German court dismissed a patent lawsuit from
Qualcomm Inc. against Apple Inc., the first setback in the country
for the chip maker in a dispute that resulted last month in the ban
of some iPhone sales in China and Germany.
The regional court in the city of Mannheim said Tuesday that a
patent-infringement case brought by Qualcomm was unfounded, though
the chip maker can appeal the decision. The ruling is the first of
six patent cases brought by Qualcomm in Mannheim, with the second
such decision expected next month, a spokesman for the court said.
It wasn't immediately clear whether or how Tuesday's decision would
affect other patent cases brought by Qualcomm.
The decision is the first win for Apple in a series of global
patent disputes launched against it by Qualcomm, following rulings
last month in Munich and Fuzhou, China, that ordered Apple to stop
selling some older iPhone models in their respective
jurisdictions.
Apple said at the time that it would appeal both decisions. The
company also said it would remove affected iPhone models from its
stores in Germany during the process, though its full portfolio of
smartphones would remain on sale in China. The newest iPhone models
-- including the XS, XS Max, and XR -- weren't affected by those
rulings.
In Tuesday's ruling the court determined that Apple hadn't
infringed on Qualcomm's patent by installing the company's chips in
its iPhones.
"The Mannheim court interpreted one aspect of our patent very
narrowly, saying that because a voltage inside a part of an iPhone
wasn't constant, the patent wasn't infringed. We strongly disagree
and will appeal," Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and
general counsel for Qualcomm, said in a statement. He added that
"Apple has a history of infringing our patents," citing last
month's rulings in Germany and China.
"We are happy with the decision and thank the court for their
time and diligence," a spokesman for Apple said. "We regret
Qualcomm's use of the court to divert attention from their illegal
behavior that is the subject of multiple lawsuits and proceedings
around the world."
The continuing legal disputes date to a suit Apple launched in
January 2017 against Qualcomm and have expanded to several patent
disputes in the U.S., China and Germany. Qualcomm is also facing a
continuing antitrust lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission in the
U.S.
Write to Sara Germano at sara.germano@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 16, 2019 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
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