October 4, 2022
Since the two companies have already reached an agreement, the United States Supreme Court has refused to hear Apple’s request to reopen an attempt to annul three Qualcomm smartphone patents. In June, a lower court dismissed Apple’s claim for the same reason.
In 2019, the companies reached an agreement that allowed Apple to continue to use Qualcomm chips in iPhones. This agreement gave Apple a license for thousands of Qualcomm patents while allowing for further proceedings before the patent office. Apple now wants to annul these patents because the validity of these patents is questionable.
Qualcomm, which sued Apple in 2017 for infringing a wide range of patents on mobile technology with its iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches with modem technology, continued its case, claiming it was part of a larger global dispute between the tech titans.
In 2020, the patents were upheld, and Apple appealed to the US Patent and Trademark Office, invoking legal validity because Qualcomm could sue again after its license expires in 2025. Last year, the case was dismissed for lack of reputation, owing to Apple’s speculative risk of being sued again and the fact that the challenge would not affect its payment obligations under the settlement.
Just as in the case already dismissed, Qualcomm said Apple had not demonstrated any specific harm that would justify the appeal.
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.
