Apple sues Qualcomm for $1bn in royalty disputes, Qualcomm claims suit 'baseless'

Tech giants lawyer up

Apple is suing Qualcomm for $1bn over claims it has deliberately overcharged royalty payments and withheld payments to Apple in retaliation for Apple answering questions relating to anti-trust actions Qualcomm.

Apple issued a strongly-worded statement about the action, as repeated in full on CNCB, in which it claims that much of what Qualcomm claims royalties for it actually has no involvement in.

"For many years Qualcomm has unfairly insisted on charging royalties for technologies they have nothing to do with," it starts.

"The more Apple innovates with unique features such as TouchID, advanced displays, and cameras, to name just a few, the more money Qualcomm collects for no reason and the more expensive it becomes for Apple to fund these innovations."

It goes on to say that Qualcomm also charges five times as much as others in the industry for certain technologies.

"Despite being just one of over a dozen companies who contributed to basic cellular standards, Qualcomm insists on charging Apple at least five times more in payments than all the other cellular patent licensors we have agreements with combined."

Furthermore, Apple claims Qualcomm is now holding back money it owes Apple due to its belief Apple is urging investigations into its practices.

"To protect this business scheme Qualcomm has taken increasingly radical steps, most recently withholding nearly $1B in payments from Apple as retaliation for responding truthfully to law enforcement agencies investigating them."

As a result Apple claims it has no option but to resort to the courts to address these wrongs.

"We are extremely disappointed in the way Qualcomm is conducting its business with us and unfortunately after years of disagreement over what constitutes a fair and reasonable royalty we have no choice left but to turn to the courts."

Qualcomm immediately hit back, with Don Rosenberg, general counsel for Qualcomm saying "it is quite clear that Apple's claims are baseless", and that it believes Apple has been encouraging regulatory action against Qualcomm.

"Apple has been actively encouraging regulatory attacks on Qualcomm's business in various jurisdictions around the world, as reflected in the recent KFTC decision and FTC complaint, by misrepresenting facts and withholding information.

"We welcome the opportunity to have these meritless claims heard in court where we will be entitled to full discovery of Apple's practices and a robust examination of the merits."

The action could mark the return to the start of a new era of litigation among tech giants, which last hit a peak in 2012-2013, when Apple was embroiled with several high-profile suits with Samsung over smartphone patents.