Claim for US$27 billion! The Apple-Qualcomm patent war escalates. How long can Qualcomm remain a patent "rogue"? Since 2017, Apple accused Qualcomm of charging unfair patent fees for "technology that has nothing to do with it" and demanded that Qualcomm pay a huge lawsuit of US$1 billion. Qualcomm and Apple are locked in escalating legal proceedings.
On April 15, Apple and Qualcomm met in court again. This is one of the largest U.S. corporate lawsuits, with damages potentially as high as $27 billion.
According to a report by the British Financial Times on April 14, the lawsuit will take up to four weeks and will be held in a federal court in San Diego. Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to testify in the lawsuit. Four companies, including Apple and its supply chain, will sue Qualcomm for excessive collection of chip royalties, with damages of up to US$27 billion.
Qualcomm denies wrongdoing and accuses Apple of forcing its long-term business partner to withdraw from paying patent licenses, and is seeking up to $15 billion in damages.
In light of the escalating legal dispute between the two companies, Apple is rumored to be considering phasing out Qualcomm chips from its future devices in favor of Intel and MediaTek chips.
Behind the dispute over patent licensing fees is the competition for scarce resources
A dispute is not about one party harming the other, nor is it about a fight to the death, but a fight for scarce resources. Behind the competition, there is a higher technological "gold content" and a more intense competition for interests. Once the interests of both parties are balanced, this kind of competition will cease to exist.
The patent licensing dispute between Apple and Qualcomm, in addition to the competition in strength and dignity between the two parties, is also hidden behind the differences in interests between the two parties and the competition for the dominance of the industrial chain. No matter how Apple wins or loses, it will be a huge challenge to Qualcomm’s model.
For Apple, if there is no support from Qualcomm’s wireless technology, whether the iPhone can still be a high-quality product will be a question mark. For Qualcomm, if it loses Apple, its largest customer, the loss in revenue will be immeasurable. A series of intertwined interests destined this lawsuit to have only one outcome, and that was settlement.
However, regardless of the outcome, there is only one thing that mobile phone manufacturers have to do, which is to accept the reality, continuously improve their patent reserves, further reduce their dependence on Qualcomm, and enhance their initiative in intellectual property rights.
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