Qualcomm posts bond to get Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 smartphones removed from sale in Germany

Qualcomm puts up €1.3bn bond to support December IP infringement court ruling in Munich

Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 smartphones could soon be pulled from shops in Germany after Qualcomm posted a €1.3bn bond to support a December patent-infringement court ruling.

That ruling, in the District Court of Munich, found Apple to be in infringement of Qualcomm patents on device power-saving technology. It ruled that Apple must stop selling the infringing devices in Germany, but required Qualcomm to put up the bond in order to start the ball rolling.

Apple has pledged to appeal the ruling, of course, which will at the very least delay the sales injunction - no doubt long enough to make it irrelevant should it fail to overturn it.

The move comes in the same week that Apple issued a surprise profits warning following unexpectedly lacklustre iPhone sales in the quarter to the end of December.

In a statement, Qualcomm said that the ban extends to third-party resellers, despite Apple's claims to the contrary.

"Apple was ordered to cease the sale, offer for sale and importation for sale of all infringing iPhones in Germany," Qualcomm claimed in a statement. "The court also ordered Apple to recall infringing iPhones from third-party resellers in Germany."

Apple on Thursday reiterated its earlier statement, in which it called Qualcomm's lawsuit "a desperate attempt to distract from the real issues between our companies".

It continued: "Their tactics, in the courts and in their everyday business, are harming innovation and harming consumers.

"Qualcomm insists on charging exorbitant fees based on work they didn't do, and they are being investigated by governments all around the world for their behaviour."

The German sales ban comes after Qualcomm in December won a preliminary injunction that bans the import and sale of nearly all iPhone models in China.

The Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court in China sided with Qualcomm, which had argued that Apple's devices infringe its patents related to resizing images and using touch-based navigation apps.

As a result, the court issued injunctions against the sale of the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X.