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A little over a year ago, Qualcomm started Apple's lawsuit process before the US International Trade Commission (ITC) for patent infringement. At the time, Apple was accused of violating six Qualcomm patents, ranging from energy saving technology to processor design. And although the case is far from over, according to Reuters, the ITC made its initial ruling, finding that Apple had violated one of the six patents. It is however important to note that the ITC also decided not to impose an import ban, as Qualcomm had originally requested.
All in all, Apple is accused of violating several Qualcomm patents because of a complex mix regarding the use of Intel modems in their phones. The case of Qualcomm does not directly accuse Intel's modems of being in violation, but claims that the resulting implementation in Apple phones violates these patents. In turn, Apple pays royalties for these patents for phones using Qualcomm modems, but not for phones using Intel modems.
This latest development comes as the ITC has progressively reduced the record over the past year. While Qualcomm's complaints originally involved six patents, by the beginning of this year half of the patent claims had been removed from the record, leaving only three patents.
The ITC, in turn, ruled today as part of its initial determination that Apple has actually violated a Qualcomm patent, although one of these patents remains – which Reuters calls "related to energy management technology". We are waiting for the CTI to publish the formal decision to confirm which patent is involved, as the remaining three patents are related to energy efficiency.
| Qualcomm's patents allegedly infringed by Apple | |||||
| US patent (Year of issue) |
first name | Abstract description | Description of Qualcomm | ||
| 8,633,936 (2014) |
Programmable streaming processor with mixed precision instruction execution. | Refers to a programmable streaming processor that is capable of performing mixed precision instructions (eg, full precision, half-precision) using different execution units. | Allows high performance and a rich visual graphics for games while increasing a mobile lifetime of the device. |
||
| 8,698,558 (2014) |
Energy efficient low voltage envelope tracker. | Techniques for generating a power supply for an amplifier and / or other circuits. | Extends battery life by integrating intelligence the system so the antenna always uses just the right amount of power of the battery to transmit, whether it's a video, a text or a voice. |
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(2013) |
extend battery life by connecting high voltage circuits and low voltage circuits with effective interfaces. |
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(2014) |
smartphone to quickly connect to the internet after being lit, while extending the battery life and reduce the size of memory. |
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| 9,535,490 (2017) |
Energy saving techniques in computing devices. | As the name indicates. | Allows your smartphone's apps to get their data quickly to and from the Internet and effective by acting as a smart "cop of traffic" between the application processor and the modem. |
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(2013) |
like live video from your phone by combining many traffic lanes in a super data highway while extending the life of the battery. |
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However, this initial determination is not definitive as it is part of the longer testing process for the ITC. The case will then be reviewed by the entire panel, which will review the findings. The commission, in turn, can either accept the conclusions or refer them for further examination. The case is far from closed. However, for now, avoiding an import ban is a win for Apple, and Qualcomm (and Intel) and itself treat it as such.
The initial decision in this case comes as Apple has begun to completely eliminate the Qualcomm modems. The latest models of iPhone XS are exclusively powered by Intel modems, which is all the more important for Qualcomm as the problem is all the more important as Apple will import an ever larger number important of potentially infringing phones.
Ultimately, the current case will likely be resolved in 2019, assuming there is no appeal. The ITC has set January 28e, 2019 as the target date for completing the survey.
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