The war between big companies and the same as the big country diplomacy.
Recently, Apple in the Beijing Intellectual Property Court sued Qualcomm, asked the court to confirm that Apple supports 3G / UMTS, 4G / LTE iPhone and iPad products, do not infringe Qualcomm in China to apply for ZL200380108677.7 and other three patents. The company made a response to the Beijing Intellectual Property Court to determine Apple infringement, and to seek the court to prohibit the iPhone in China production and sales.This is Qualcomm and Apple since the beginning of 2017 patent war marathon since the new round of the plot.
Outside the court, Ookla, the US well-known speed website, confirmed that the latest release of the iPhone 8 Plus comes in two models, corresponding to the Qualcomm baseband and Intel baseband, and the test shows that the iPhone 8 Plus with Qualcomm baseband is superior in performance. At the same time, business has to go on.
For a new round of mutual complaints, Qualcomm China, a spokesman in an interview with "China Business" reporter, said: 'Qualcomm in order to safeguard their legitimate interests, had to be forced to exercise the legitimate rights and interests to maintain their reasonable demands.' Apple A company spokesman said: 'We believe (Qualcomm) this latest legal action will fail.'
Li Junhui, a researcher at the Center for Intellectual Property Research at China University of Political Science and Law, believes that Apple is based on its own interests and is using its own advantages to challenge various basic systems, models and mechanisms. The litigation is in fact hope that the court will confirm infringement and disassemble Qualcomm Authorized business model based on the mobile phone China Union Secretary-General Wang Yanhui that: 'Qualcomm Apple mutual complaints, easy to file, trial out the results are more difficult.
A new round of each other
Recently, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court official WeChat public No. 'know the production of Beijing' disclosure, the hospital has accepted Apple, Apple Electronics (Beijing) Co., Ltd. sued Qualcomm to confirm the case of non-infringement of patent disputes. For a method and apparatus entitled & quot; Method and apparatus for data transmission over a reverse link in a telecommunication system & quot ;, numbered ZL200380108677.7, entitled & quot; Efficient Transmit Signal via Access Channel & quot ;, numbered ZL200580031592.2 ; A device entitled "Device for retransmission of signals in a communication system", numbered ZL01809657.3.
Apple also claimed that based on the iPhone and iPad and other products meet the relevant wireless communication standards, Qualcomm has made a clear infringement of the patent infringement to Apple, Apple also urged the high traffic lawsuits, but until Apple sued, Qualcomm did not mention this Sui-hui analysis, which means that Apple recognized the iPhone and iPad using Qualcomm's patent, Qualcomm also prompted Apple suspected of infringement, but Qualcomm has not prosecuted Apple, Apple hopes Qualcomm quickly sue themselves, so choose to sue the court to confirm that they do not Infringement.
Apple's suit was accepted, Qualcomm responded to the Beijing Intellectual Property Court filed three lawsuit, accused Apple infringement of Qualcomm in China's three non-standard essential patents, and apply for the ban on iPhone production and sales in China.
"The patent is a high-pass technology outside the cellular wireless communications technology." Qualcomm China told the "China Business" reporter, which covers' technology that uses Apple's own iPhone products to extend battery life, iPhone 'Force Touch' function related technology.
Li Junhui that, because Apple is Qualcomm's big customers, even in the lawsuit, the two sides did not interrupt the cooperation, so the face of Apple's attack, Qualcomm has been QUALCOMM China has admitted that Qualcomm's counterclaim against Apple's lawsuit in China.
After Qualcomm's counterclaim, Apple said in a public statement: 'We have been willing to pay fair and reasonable prices for the patents we use, but these patents have never been discussed in our multi-year negotiations with Qualcomm.' In this case, Qualcomm spokeswoman Christine Trimble said: 'Apple uses Qualcomm to invent the technology, but did not pay for it.'
Gradually upgrade the patent war
Apple and Qualcomm have been working for many years.Apple has been developed for the iPhone A series of processors, such as the latest iPhone 8 series is already A11 bionic processor.However, in the smart phone processor, the core is the baseband chip, baseband chip can be said Is the 'CPU in the CPU', because the baseband chip is responsible for mobile phone and base station communication. IPhone was originally used Infineon baseband, but from the iPhone 4 series, Apple introduced Qualcomm's baseband, greatly enhance the performance of the iPhone The
Qualcomm has exclusive of the fifth generation, sixth generation iPhone series of baseband orders.However, the baseband is also a high cost of smart phones one of the components.Apple has been trying to reduce the cost of baseband, but also want to reduce Qualcomm's patent licensing fee But has been with the high-pass negotiations.However, the sale of chips and patent licensing is Qualcomm's two main business, if Apple to reduce costs, but also must be no difference to all mobile phone manufacturers price.In order to adhere to their business model, Qualcomm refused with Apple compromise.
So, from the iPhone 7 series began, Apple introduced Intel's baseband.At the same time, Apple also successfully poached Qualcomm executives, ready to develop their own baseband chip.However, according to the United States well-known dismantling site exposure content, Intel baseband and Qualcomm baseband performance There is a certain gap, in order to ensure the performance of the iPhone 7 consistency, Apple and even 'castrated' part of the function of the high-pass baseband, which last year caused a great uproar.
According to media disclosure, in order to persuade Qualcomm to give in the South Korean regulators on Qualcomm's antitrust investigation, Apple is the 'behind the trader', combined with the South Korean government to promote Qualcomm $ 854 million anti-monopoly penalty. Said the high-pass to the US regulatory authorities filed a document claim that Apple and Samsung executives in the United States in 2015 Sun Valley meeting conspiracy against Qualcomm, Apple executives asked Samsung 'proactive', because the Korean antitrust investigation is' let Qualcomm down patent The best chance of licensing fees'.
Relevant media also disclosed that Apple's clarification of US regulators said, 'Apple was just said to Samsung,' you are living in South Korea, should be cautious about this case ', this is just a common dialogue between the two CEO.' Samsung is this Things kept silent.
Related media analysis that is due to the identification of Apple, Samsung conspired to promote the Korean government's own antitrust investigation, Qualcomm then decided to no longer return to Apple to buy Qualcomm baseband chip royalties part, and this is the January 2017 Apple sued Qualcomm in the California Southern District Court for direct reasons, because Apple's appeal was to appeal to the California court that Qualcomm returned $ 1 billion in royalties and lowered future royalties.
Since then, Apple and Qualcomm's patent war out of control. Reporters comb found that the official stage of the proceedings so far 9 months, basically Apple 'first card', Qualcomm was forced to deal with the situation; 2017 1 ~ 4 Month, Apple non-stop in the United States, China, Britain, Germany and other countries and regions around the world to launch a lawsuit in Qualcomm, 2017 April, according to media reports, Apple has instigated suppliers refused to pass Qualcomm's patent licensing fees, War on the more prosperous; to 2010 on April 10 Qualcomm in the United States California Southern District Court against Apple as a sign, Qualcomm and Apple in a number of countries around the world into the stage of mutual action.
In particular, Qualcomm in the United States to prosecute Apple 'part of the iPhone model infringed its six patents and requested the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to Apple in Asia assembled iPhone released' limited exclusion order ', prohibit iPhone sold in the United States, advertising show , Marketing and warehousing activities', and this time in China to seek to prohibit the production and sale of iPhone, the two sides seem to start the 'bayonet see red' the.
Qualcomm China has told reporters stressed: 'Apple has been using Qualcomm's intellectual property, but refused and postponed to the high-pass payment of patent licensing fees, infringement of Qualcomm's patented technology. And in order to cover the nature of the press supplier, Apple also first provoked the incident, unilaterally stop paying the patent license fee, the termination of its contract obligations should be fulfilled.
Final outcome or reconciliation
Apple and Qualcomm gradually upgrade the patent war, is intensifying both sides of the lose-lose.
For Apple, in order to force Qualcomm to make concessions, iPhone 7 series has been the introduction of Intel baseband, but the fact that this is a choice for their own brand of injury, while the latest launch of the iPhone 8 series of products, Apple further enhance the Intel baseband Of the purchase share.
However, the speed website Ookla disclosed that the US version of the iPhone 8 Plus has two versions, one supports the Qualcomm X16 Gigabit 4G baseband chip, one supports the Intel XMM7480 baseband chip, the Intel baseband can support up to LTE Cat.9 450Mbps download speed, For the two versions of the iPhone 8 Plus performance to solve, Apple cut off the Qualcomm X16 originally supported 4 × 4MIMO antenna, so the highest rate of high-pass baseband theory into the 800Mbps. Despite this, 'measured, the high-pass baseband iPhone 8 Plus the most prominent performance of the Inter baseband iPhone 8 Plus and the previous generation iPhone 7 Plus (Qualcomm baseband version) similar to the Ookla measured report shows that with the iPhone 8 series of production and sales, similar to last year's iPhone 7 Different versions of the different performance of the criticism is likely to re-appear.
Qualcomm, due to the largest customer Apple refused to patent licensing fees, Qualcomm's operating income this year will be reduced at the same time, Qualcomm shares this year has been in the shock down the channel.
Despite this, a number of industry insiders interview analysis, because Apple and Qualcomm in the past have had a lot of similar lawsuit, and ultimately reconciliation, so Apple and Qualcomm's final outcome may be reconciliation, for example, over the past few years , Apple and Ericsson, Nokia and Qualcomm and Samsung, Meizu and other patent disputes occurred, and ultimately reconciliation.
Perhaps because of this, Qualcomm executive vice president and general counsel Donald Rosenberg said in an interview with reporters: 'than the lawsuit, we prefer to negotiate through commercial negotiations or consultations to solve the problem.Of course, in view of Apple in We are attacking us all over the world, and in this case we can not sit still and have to respond.
Qualcomm CEO Steve Morankov recently in WSJ D.Live Technology Conference is clearly that he believes that Apple and Qualcomm one day to shake hands and words, 'I think we can spend this period, we and Apple have We are sometimes disagreeable, but our links are still very broad.