Qualcomm’s New Lawsuit Cites Six Patents, Seeks US Sales Ban of Infringing Apple Products
by Anton Shilov on July 6, 2017 9:00 PM EST
Qualcomm is about to enter another round of its legal battle against Apple. With a new complaint, the company is set to file on Friday with the U.S. ITC. In the complaint, Qualcomm accuses Apple of infringing its patents that cover various technologies that can extend the battery life of a mobile device and seeks to ban sales of Apple’s devices in the U.S with a limited exclusion order for non-Qualcomm baseband Apple devices, and a Cease and Desist Order for all infringing devices.
Back in January, Apple filed a lawsuit against Qualcomm and accused the company of overcharging for its chips and withholding a payment of about $1 billion in promised rebates, which is what Apple wants to get from its partner. Several days before Apple sued Qualcomm, the U.S. ITC charged the latter company with multiple antitrust violations, one of which was preclusion of Apple from sourcing baseband modems from Qualcomm’s rivals. In April, Qualcomm countersued Apple and accused the company of numerous wrongdoings, including interfering Qualcomm’s business relationships with manufacturers of Apple iOS devices as well as of artificially limiting capabilities of Qualcomm’s modem in the iPhone 7. In the new lawsuit to be filed on Friday, Qualcomm is accusing Apple of infringing six of its patents not related to wireless networks and 'is seeking a Cease and Desist Order barring further sales of infringing Apple products that have already been imported and to halt the marketing, advertising, demonstration, warehousing of inventory for distribution and use of those imported products in the United States'.
The patents in question (see table below for details) cover various techniques that can extend the battery life of mobile devices. The patents are not covered by any industry standard, are not essential parts of any devices, and all six patents were issued in the last four years, Qualcomm asserts. At least one of the patents covers an essential aspect of any modern mobile SoC (e.g., a GPU stream processor supporting mixed precision instruction execution) and it could be considered impossible to build one without infringing that particular patent.
Qualcomm claims that Apple’s iOS devices use the aforementioned Qualcomm’s patents all the time, yet the hardware maker does not pay any royalties. What is ironic about the lawsuit is that while it does not involve Qualcomm’s wireless patents, it seeks to stop sales of iPhones and iPads with modems that compete against those from Qualcomm, essentially forcing Apple to buy baseband processors only from Qualcomm.
| Qualcomm's Patents Allegedly Infringed by Apple | |||||
| U.S. Patent No. (Year of Issue) |
Name | Abstract Description | Qualcomm's Description | ||
| 8,633,936 (2014) |
Programmable streaming processor with mixed precision instruction execution. | Relates to a programmable streaming processor that is capable of executing mixed-precision (e.g., full-precision, half-precision) instructions using different execution units. | Enables high performance and rich visual graphics for games while increasing a mobile device’s battery life. |
||
| 8,698,558 (2014) |
Low-voltage power-efficient envelope tracker. | Techniques for generating a power supply for an amplifier and/or other circuits. | Extends battery life by building intelligence into the system so the antenna is always using just the right amount of battery power to transmit, whether it be video, text, or voice. |
||
| 8,487,658 (2013) |
Compact and robust level shifter layout design. | The field of invention relates to a semiconductor device and methods of manufacturing a semiconductor device handling a plurality of voltage, specifically multi-voltage circuits for shifting the voltage level between voltage domains. | Maximizes smartphone performance while extending battery life by connecting high voltage circuits and low voltage circuits with efficient interfaces. |
||
| 8,838,949 (2014) |
Direct scatter loading of executable software image from a primary processor to one or more secondary processor in a multi-processor system. | In a multi-processor system, an executable software image including an image header and a segmented data image is scatter loaded from a first processor to a second processor. | Enables “flashless boot” which allows your smartphone to connect to the internet quickly after being powered on, while extending battery life and reducing memory size. |
||
| 9,535,490 (2017) |
Power saving techniques in computing devices. | As the name implies. | Enables the applications on your smartphone to get their data to and from the internet quickly and efficiently by acting as a smart “traffic cop” between the apps processor and the modem. |
||
| 9,608,675 (2013) |
Power tracker for multiple transmit signals sent simultaneously. | Techniques for generating a power tracking supply voltage for a circuit (e.g., a power amplifier). The circuit may process multiple transmit signals being sent simultaneously on multiple carriers at different frequencies. | Enables a mobile device to send high-speed data such as live video from your phone by combining many lanes of traffic into a data super-highway while prolonging battery life. |
||
Qualcomm expects the ITC investigation to start in August and for the case go to trial in 2018. In addition to the complaint with the ITC, Qualcomm also filed a lawsuit against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California alleging of the same wrongdoings.
We have questions fired at Qualcomm and Intel and will update in due course when we get responses.
Official Qualcomm Press Release
SAN DIEGO, July 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM) today announced that it is filing a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) alleging that Apple has engaged in the unlawful importation and sale of iPhones that infringe one or more claims of six Qualcomm patents covering key technologies that enable important features and functions in iPhones. Qualcomm is requesting that the ITC institute an investigation into Apple's infringing imports and ultimately issue a Limited Exclusion Order (LEO) to bar importation of those iPhones and other products into the United States to stop Apple's unlawful and unfair use of Qualcomm's technology. The Company is seeking the LEO against iPhones that use cellular baseband processors other than those supplied by Qualcomm's affiliates. Additionally, Qualcomm is seeking a Cease and Desist Order barring further sales of infringing Apple products that have already been imported and to halt the marketing, advertising, demonstration, warehousing of inventory for distribution and use of those imported products in the United States.
"Qualcomm's inventions are at the heart of every iPhone and extend well beyond modem technologies or cellular standards," said Don Rosenberg, executive vice president and general counsel of Qualcomm. "The patents we are asserting represent six important technologies, out of a portfolio of thousands, and each is vital to iPhone functions. Apple continues to use Qualcomm's technology while refusing to pay for it. These lawsuits seek to stop Apple's infringement of six of our patented technologies."
The six patents, U.S. Patent No. 8,633,936, U.S. Patent No. 8,698,558, U.S. Patent No. 8,487,658, U.S. Patent No. 8,838,949, U.S. Patent No. 9,535,490, and U.S. Patent No. 9,608,675 enable high performance in a smartphone while extending battery life. Each of the patents does so in a different way for different popular smartphone features; https://www.qualcomm.com/iphone-infographic. While the technologies covered by the patents are central to the performance of the iPhone, the six asserted patents are not essential to practice any standards in a mobile device or subject to a commitment to offer to license such patents.
Qualcomm today also filed a complaint against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California alleging that Apple infringes the same six patents in the complaint filed in the ITC. The complaint seeks damages and injunctive relief.
Qualcomm expects that the ITC investigation will commence in August and that the case will be tried next year.
Related Reading
Source: Qualcomm
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Morawka - Friday, July 7, 2017 - link
I wonder how many times ddriver says "actually" in a day. I bet he/she is a ball of sunshine to be around. Try not to come off as a know it all is all i'm saying. Just make your point and explain logic without the contemptuous attitude.Hurr Durr - Saturday, July 8, 2017 - link
All the time while using a CNC machine, I bet.ddriver - Monday, July 10, 2017 - link
Did you actually bother to check how much "actually" actually counts as overuse?But then again, this is probably the "best" argument you managed to come up with. Kudos!
I know what I know, and what I don't know I don't speak of. This may create the illusion I am a know-it-all, because I am not like... leaving a "I don't have anything to say on that subject" every time I don't. Now if you were smart enough to be in the position to lecture me you'd be able to figure it out instead of waiting on me to explain it to you.
melgross - Sunday, July 9, 2017 - link
Oh please, your posts are just sad. Your jealousy is obvious. Sorry your favorite company isn’t doing as well as you wish it was. Heh, you wouldn’t know what the word objective means if you were hit over the head with it.Dream on sucker.
ddriver - Monday, July 10, 2017 - link
LOL, talk about sad posts. Jealousy? My "favorite company"? That's like me saying "your favorite cancer". Dreaming on? Sucker? Your previous post was pathetic fanboyism, but that hits the bottom. My condolences.troysavary - Friday, July 7, 2017 - link
I can gets pints for arguing on the internet?ckbryant - Saturday, July 8, 2017 - link
They don't license their patients on fair and reasonable terms and thus they function like a patent troll that actually makes and designs products vs just exists to sue, they troll through their lack of fair licensing.Marc GP - Friday, July 7, 2017 - link
So, your solution is basically dismantling Qualcomm ? (an unpayable fine, removing all their intellectual property, not allowing them to do research for 20 years, ... ...)Apple has never done anything wrong here either, right ?.
Sure you are not a fanboy, sure not.
melgross - Friday, July 7, 2017 - link
All big companies get into patent fights. Most of the time they’re legitimate. That is, a company thinks it has the right to use a technology, and a patent holder disagrees. A fair percentage of the time, the patent, or patents in question are invalidated, or partly invalidated. Sometimes the user has to enter an agreement.That’s normal corporate life these days. But some companies try to take advantage when they think they’ve got something everyone needs. Qualcomm is one of these companies. They’re licensing their patents to companies making the chips. Then they force the buyer of those chips to pay additional royalties. That’s illegal.
Qualcomm is being successfully investigated in a number of places around the world. These countries have required some big customers to cooperate with those investigations. Apple is one of the companies that has been required to cooperate. As a result of these suits against Qualcomm, which Qualcomm lost, Apple decided to sue them as well. Whereas they apparently didn’t feel they had a choice in the past about going along with Qualcomm, they do now. They’re in more solid ground since they can, are also going to Intel.
Apparently, Qualcomm owes them over a $billion in discounts from those royalty fees, and after Apple cooperated with China and S Korea in their investigations, Qualcomm stopped the payments. Apple began by sueing for those payments. With Qualcomm’s initial negative response, Apple upped the ante, and now, Qualcomm is looking around for other things to sue over.
Qualcomm knows they’re in big trouble here. The US government is investigating them, the EU is investigating them, and their biggest customer, Apple, for their cell radios is slowly, but surely, leaving. If Apple wins their lawsuit, a lawsuit that was strengthened considerably by a recent Supreme Court ruling, then Qualcomm’s entire royalty house of cards comes crashing down. They know that. And as most of their profits come from royalties, that’s a major problem for them.
id4andrei - Friday, July 7, 2017 - link
What about Apple getting kickbacks for not making a wimax iphone? That billion was nice no?