The legal battle between Qualcomm and Apple was extended to China today, with the company from Cupertino initiating a new lawsuit against those from Qualcomm in this country. Apple also accuses Qualcomm there of blackmailing it into licensing some of its technologies so that you can buy the products, asking for compensation of 145.3 million dollars based on iPhone sales in the country.
Apple claims exactly the same problems as in the case of the US lawsuit filed last week, accusing Qualcomm of abusing the dominant position it has on the market of modem manufacturers for mobile terminals. Apple demands that those compensations be paid, but also that Qualcomm give up these tactics in collaboration with it.
Those from Qualcomm responded saying that Apple is just trying to get better prices for the products it buys for the iPhone and iPad. They claim that Apple had terms similar to those accepted by more than 100 other Chinese manufacturers, but that does not mean that Qualcomm did not try to blackmail them as well.
The amount demanded by Apple in China from Qualcomm is 7 times lower than the one demanded in the USA, so we are talking about substantially lower sales than in its own territory. Considering that these processes have only just been opened, it will be a long time before we have a decision in the first instance for any of them.
"Apple Inc filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm Inc in Beijing, alleging the chip supplier abused its clout in the chip industry and seeking 1 billion yuan ($145.32 million) in damages. Apple also filed a second lawsuit against Qualcomm which accused it of failing to live up to promises made to license "standard essential patents" broadly and inexpensively."
