By Heather Hamilton, contributing writer
Qualcomm and Apple are again in conflict, reports Bloomberg. With another lawsuit against pending, Qualcomm has accused Apple of sharing proprietary code with Intel by copying an Intel engineer on an email request for proprietary information and failing to allow an audit review regarding Apple’s handling of software, which Qualcomm claims was listed in their contract. According to the lawsuit, which was filed on November 1 in California state court in San Diego, Apple breached contract with chipmaker Qualcomm regarding software required to allow mobile chips to interact with the phone.
The suit also alleges that an Apple engineer working with a competitor asked a colleague to request data download technology information from Qualcomm. Right now, Apple manufactures phones using chips from both Qualcomm and Intel, though there is speculation that Qualcomm will soon be dropped entirely, which would lower their business by roughly 7.5%.
The conflict between the two companies began with a lawsuit in January in which Apple sued Qualcomm, accusing them of overcharging for use of patents. Apple alleges that Qualcomm leverages their market position to overcharge for chips. Qualcomm has accused Apple of lying to regulators in an attempt to force Qualcomm to lower prices. In a countersuit, Qualcomm sought injunctions that would stop the sale of iPhones in the United States and China. They also sued Apple for copyright infringement.
So far, Apple has declined to comment on the lawsuit.
As of now, it is unclear what exactly Qualcomm is seeking as a result of the lawsuit, but previous legal battles give reason to believe that it is likely a large sum of money. According to TechCrunch, the lack of royalty payments from Apple to its suppliers has greatly impacted Qualcomm’s bottom line. On November 1, Qualcomm reported its earnings, which exceeded analyst expectations as its profits dropped 90% year over year.
Fortune reports that Qualcomm is prepared for a lengthy fight, despite a few hints this summer that things between the two companies may be settled out of court.
“There are a lot of levers between the companies to figure out things,” said Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf on a call with analysts after announcing quarterly results. “I just think we’re not at a point where we’re announcing anything different and I think we want to be upfront that this could take some time to resolve.”
Don Rosenberg, who serves as general counsel, added, “It’s important to keep in mind that litigation of this size and magnitude takes a while and you can’t focus on any particular event in the short-term.”
Sources: Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Fortune
Image Source: Pixabay
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