Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Qualcomm Is Seeking US Import Ban For iPhones (bloomberg.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the hurt-feelings dept.

Qualcomm is seeking to block the sale of iPhones in the U.S. after Apple decided to stop paying them billions of dollars in licensing fees for smartphone chips. Bloomberg reports: Qualcomm is preparing to ask the International Trade Commission to stop the iPhone, which is built in Asia, from entering the country, threatening to block Apple's iconic product from the American market in advance of its anticipated new model this fall, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. The ITC is a quasi-judicial agency in Washington that has the power to block the import of goods into the U.S. and processes cases more quickly than federal district courts -- the venue in which the companies are accusing each other of lying, making threats and trying to create an illegal monopoly. The escalating legal dispute revolves around patents Qualcomm holds that let it to charge a percentage of the price of every modern high-speed data-capable smartphone, regardless of whether the devices use its chips. Apple argues the system is unfair and Qualcomm has used licensing leverage to illegally help its semiconductor unit.

5 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. Let's do the numbers... by Brett+Buck · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Qualcomm market capitalization = $80 billion, give or take a few. Apple cash on hand = $250 billion.

            I know how this turns out. Don Quixote had a more rational approach.

    1. Re:Let's do the numbers... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Is all dispute resolution in the US a simple case of who has the most money, or is there some kind of legal system of rules in place?

      I mean, most countries have the latter, and the point of the system is to prevent stuff like this.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  2. Re:New boss same as old boss? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    That depends on the last person he talks to.

  3. Re:Good Defense by Anubis+IV · · Score: 3, Interesting

    These particular patents were included in the industry standard on the condition that Qualcomm would provide them under FRAND terms. As such, Qualcomm has given up their right to leverage those patents as fully as their monopoly position would otherwise allow. The OP seems to be suggesting that by engaging in the sorts of practices mentioned in the summary, they're acting the part of an unrestricted monopoly, even though they gave up the right to do so when they agreed to FRAND terms. The fact that the US government is currently suing them over that exact issue adds an extra wrinkle to things.

  4. Apple is the one demanding special treatment.. by thesupraman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Ahh, the shill is strong in this one. ....
    Qualcomm is licensing this very same technology across the board to a wide range of end users at the same rates.
    The problem is, Apple demand they should get a BETTER rate than everyone else, and there reasoning seems to be basically that most other smaller providers bend over and take it from Apple on pricing, so its only FAIR Qualcomm do also.

    Care to explain how that fits in to FRAND? what part of FRAND states that Apple get BETTER pricing than the rest of an industry?

    Thought not.