Apple Files $1 Billion Lawsuit Against Chip Supplier Qualcomm
Apple will sue Qualcomm for $ 1 billion for "charging royalties on technologies that have nothing to do with it," Apple said on Friday.
This demand is because Qualcomm charges royalties to technology companies that somehow use their proprietary standards. "Qualcomm reinforces its dominance through exclusionary tactics and high patent fees," Apple said in a statement sent to CNET.
Apple's lawsuit follows the steps of the lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is accused Qualcomm, the maker of processors for the world's largest mobile phone, to maintain a Monopoly over mobile chips through a "no license, no chips" policy.
Qualcomm provides the LTE chips for the iPhone and until 2016, the manufacturer was the only supplier of these chips. From the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, Apple uses chips from Qualcomm and Intel.
The lawsuit is in the wake of the previous years in which, allegedly, Qualcomm forced Apple to use its processors exclusively. Qualcomm, from every phone on the block with its processors, received a percentage.
Qualcomm has come out after allegations of the Californian firm and in a brief statement said the following: "Apple has deliberately misrepresented our agreements and negotiations, Apple also has been actively promoting legal firms Qualcomm attacks in various jurisdictions around the world."
However, when Apple decided to work with law enforcement agencies of government in order to pursue this investigation, Qualcomm remarked that the U.S company was trying to avoid payments of one billion dollars, and for this reason, Apple is trying to recover that money by accusing Qualcomm
"Although it is only a company of a dozen companies that have contributed to the basic cellular standards, Qualcomm insists on charging Apple at least five times more in payments than the rest of the combined companies with which we have agreements," says Apple in demand.
The suit is the latest episode in a series of counts of antitrust scrutiny that Qualcomm has faced in recent years. Last month, the Fair Trade Commission South Korean chip maker imposed a fine of US $ 850 million to maintain "business model unfair" practices and create a monopoly. In February, China fined Qualcomm almost US $ 1b as part of a long antitrust investigation into the company.
